Across Three Weddings
by Soozen
Summary: Over the course of three different weddings, Toph and the Duke become close, and bond.
1. Sokka and Suki

Toph sat on a rock, near the cove, listening to the wind blow and feeling the vibrations of the waves coming upon the sand. It was night time, and to the average person, the waves would appear calm, softly flowing in to the beach. But Toph could feel them, feel how terribly the rocks and stones were being thrown this way and that, skidding across the ocean floor, relentless and unable to help themselves.

And that was how Toph felt.

She was on Kiyoshi Island; everyone was. They'd all gathered the night prior, each coming their own way; Sokka and Katara sailed from the south pole, Zuko and Mai from the Fire Nation via air ship, and Aang had traveled to the Earth Kingdom on Appa to pick up Toph. Others had come their own way, all by boat of course, until they all were there; Haru, Pipsqueak and The Duke, Teo; anyone they had befriended throughout their journeys. Suki, of course, was already on Kiyoshi Island.

They'd all gathered for a very important and terrible (in Toph's opinion) reason:

Sokka and Suki were getting married.

It wasn't really a surprise to anyone. They'd always been so overly affectionate and clearly in love with each other. Toph found it surprising that they were the first in the group to be married; she'd thought it would surely be Zuko and Mai. But then again, Zuko could be kind of chicken shit about things. Things that had to do with girls, at least, so it'd be another year or two before he'd propose, she estimated.

It was easier to think about Zuko getting married. Zuko wasn't her best friend. Zuko wasn't the person she'd had feelings for the past five years, who she'd had to watch flirt endlessly with another girl the whole time.

Sokka was, and that was why this whole thing just plain sucked. She hadn't wanted to come. She'd seriously thought of any and all ways she could avoid the whole damn charade, but there was no way. Sokka was her best friend, and she was his, and there was no way in hell she could ever ruin this day for him.

Even if he was being a stupid ass and marrying someone who wasn't her.

So she'd come to Kiyoshi, and had put on a façade the whole time, making sure to be snappy and sarcastic when need be. She ended up spending the night with Katara and Suki, much to her dismay. It was a girl's thing, apparently, for them to gather and gossip and talk about the wedding and whatnot.

Toph hated every minute of it, mostly because she couldn't bring herself to hate Suki. She wanted to. It'd make things a lot easier, if Sokka had chosen some bitch to wed. But Suki was nice, and Suki was strong, and had twice the balls as most men.

And the day of the wedding- earlier that day, actually- had been nearly unbearable. Katara had been helping Suki out, making sure everything looked perfect, not that Toph would ever see the finished result. She couldn't even compliment her, which was fine with her. And then Katara had _attacked _her, forcing her into a too confining kimono, and painting all sorts of make up on her face, saying that this was a special occasion and that they all had to look nice.

Look nice. Blegh. As if that meant much to Toph.

The whole ceremony was much to long, and the whole thing just killed. She could feel Sokka's heartbeat through the vibrations, and Suki's; they were in sync, their hearts beating much too fast due to nerves and happiness. The whole thing was just so disgustingly perfect.

Toph couldn't wait to get away, but even after the ceremony was done, she couldn't escape. She had to congratulate Sokka; it was her duty as a best friend.

So she put on her best face, and slugged him hard in the shoulder, telling him that this meant it was finally time for him to grow up, to which he predictably cried out that he was an adult now.

Did anyone really expect Toph to congratulate him any other way?

There was a party, and it was rather nice, to catch up with everyone. But Toph kept getting distracted, whenever she was near Sokka. She could feel all the vibrations inside him, and after years of feeling the different reactions inside people, she knew exactly what it meant. Sokka was happy, happier than she ever knew he could be.

And that was just like forcing a knife into her heart and twisting it.

She wasn't the one making him this overjoyed, and she never would be. It was Suki, and it always would be Suki.

She had to get away.

And that was how she found herself by the beach, sitting by herself and trying to keep herself from wallowing in self pity. Toph hated these stupid girly feelings. She was tough, she was like the very earth she bent to her will; she was strong, stubborn and resilient. Her best friend had just gotten married; this shouldn't be enough to make her feel like a rock that was reduced to dust.

Small. Meaningless. Forgotten.

Toph sighed heavily, and went back to focusing on the small vibrations she felt in every which direction. It was easier to get consumed in how amazing it was, and how alive the earth really was, than to focus on how she'd never, ever be in Sokka's life the way Suki was.

She was interrupted from studying all the small tremors of the earth by a new set of vibrations; that of someone coming her way. And she knew immediately who it was: the Duke. He'd grown considerably over the last five years. No longer was he the small child with the heart of a lion-turtle; he'd shot up, now a very tall teen, who towered over Toph. She'd remained short; sure, she'd grown as well, but not very much. Apparently she was doomed to always be small and disarmingly harmless looking.

Not the Duke. He was a good foot taller than her, but with his sudden growth spurt, he didn't seem to have adjusted well to it. He stumbled slightly over his long limbs, and seemed generally unsure of his new height.

Normally, Toph would have called out to him, letting him know she knew he was there. But, he wasn't coming all sneaky-like; it was more like he was strolling over to her. So she just let him come and remained silent as he walked up to her and took a seat on a rock near her.

"What're you doing all the way out here?" the Duke finally asked, after a few seconds of sitting in silence. She could tell he was looking at her; she didn't repay the courtesy. It just was meaningless to her. She knew who she was talking to, and it wasn't like she'd get anything out of facing the person she was talking to.

"It's not really my scene," Toph said simply.

She felt him nod. "Me too," he said. "All that dancing…. Not really my thing. Dancing is stupid."

"Yeah."

"It's nice out here," the Duke continued. "The ocean's so calm, and kinda nice looking, you know?"

"No," Toph snapped slightly. "I don't know. I'm blind, remember?" Seriously, how hard was it to remember she couldn't see a damn thing? Pretty meant nothing to her, as did colors and hues, and light and dark.

"Oh. Sorry. I forgot."

"No kidding."

There was a pause. The Duke seemed hesitant to speak now, which Toph didn't really mind, but deep down, she felt kind of bad. She liked the Duke. He was so totally badass for such a young kid. He'd just as fearlessly jumped into battle back when the Fire Nation was a huge asshole, and he'd been only eight at the time. He'd forever be one of the coolest people out there in her book.

"So Sokka married Suki," the Duke finally said, and Toph tried not to cringe. This was exactly what she was not trying to think about. "They make a good couple."

"Yeah, I guess," Toph replied, perhaps a little too bitterly, and she sighed again. The last thing she needed now was for it to somehow get back to Sokka that she didn't approve of his marriage- which wasn't exactly true. If he was going to be with someone who was not Toph, the second best choice was Suki.

But Sokka did not seem to be aware of that order of things.

"I mean," she continued, to cover up her tone, "Suki's one hell of a fighter. She'll be able to keep him in line when he gets stupid. And everyone says she's pretty- I don't know, I don't know anything about pretty and ugly. She's nice too…."

She trailed off, absolutely hating that she was naming all these good qualities about Suki, and simultaneously hating that she was sort of disliking Suki a little for it. These stupid feminine, Katara-like feelings had to go away.

The Duke was quiet again for a moment. And when he spoke, Toph didn't know how to react.

"You really like Sokka, don't you?"

Her initial reaction was to deny it, but she held her tongue. If the Duke had caught on, then good for fucking him. But she wasn't going to confess or deny it.

"It must have been hard seeing him get married," he continued. "I mean, not seeing- I didn't mean it like-"

"I know what you meant," Toph said shortly, cutting him off. She let out another loud sigh. "So yeah, what if it was? It's not like I can blame him; Suki's great. And they've always been together. He'll be happy with her, even if she can't bend any element."

That was the one thing she'd always have over Suki; she could earth bend, and Suki couldn't bend a damn thing. Not that that really mattered, though.

The Duke let out a small laugh, and Toph's brow furrowed. Was he laughing at her? If he was, she was going to punch him really hard- and not out of affection, either.

"Yeah, you're right," he said, and shifted so that he was facing more toward her. "I've heard you're the best earth bender in the whole world, too."

Toph couldn't help but to grin cockily. It was a natural reaction. "I'm the best bender there is, kid."

"Better than Aang? He's the Avatar, you know."

"Psh, I taught his scrawny ass how to earth bend."

The Duke laughed again, and Toph couldn't help but to join in a little.

* * *

So, first chapter up! I've been itching to write this- so much that I've been neglecting _To Me You Are_. Don't worry guys! Another chapter for that will be coming soon, I promise.

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	2. Back to Gaoling

Apparently, Toph getting home safely was a _huge_ friggin' issue. And really, Toph didn't know what she was more annoyed about; the fact that everyone felt that she needed help getting across the Earth Kingdom, or that no one could decide who could go with her.

Aang and Katara were going to be headed to the south pole; Aang had forgotten this little detail when he volunteered to be Toph's chauffer between her home and Kiyoshi island. And, there was some big issue happening in the south pole that required Katara to be back as soon as possible, which meant that she needed Appa.

Zuko and Mai were going to the Fire Nation, which was the exact opposite direction; not to mention, it wasn't really fitting for a Fire Lord to act as a chauffer. Teo was only going back to the Southern Air Temple, and Haru's village was far from Toph's, and Pipsqueak was apparently staying in a village not far from Haru's.

Currently, Katara, Aang, Teo, Haru and Sokka were all discussing it. Toph was sitting just outside the group, getting surlier and surlier. The last thing she wanted was for Sokka to get involved, but he'd heard everyone else discussing it, and had butted in.

"Can't you and Katara take Toph home, and _then_ go home?" Sokka asked Aang.

Katara answered rather hotly. "Sokka, you know I'm supposed to be helping Gran-Gran with the pregnant buffalo-yaks! If we take Toph home, it'll take us a week and a half to get home- that's twice as long as it'd take if I just took a ship home! Gran-Gran needs me to get home as soon as possible. I promised I'd be back by tomorrow."

"Well, what if you take a ship," Sokka started, "and Aang takes Toph home?"

"That might work," Aang said, but Katara shook her head.

"I'd be getting home in four days then, at the very earliest," Katara said. "I can't do that to Gran-Gran."

"Okay, what if Aang takes you home, then comes back and takes Toph home?"

"No way," Toph said. "I'm not staying here any longer by myself." This was mostly because Sokka was sticking around on Kiyoshi Island, and he'd be constantly with Suki. Toph wouldn't be able to handle that, not right now. "Seriously guys. I can get home on my own; I'm not helpless."

"Absolutely not," Sokka said, shaking his head. "You can't read a map, or road signs, or even know which direction you're going in. You could end up in Ba Sing Se, or Omashu instead of getting home!"

"I'll be fine!" Toph said beyond annoyed now. They'd been arguing and debating and going back and forth for twenty minutes now, and the ships were all waiting to depart. She just wanted to get going, and forget that Sokka was married. "I'll just ask around, to make sure I'll get back to Gaoling. I'll know if someone lies and gives me wrong directions anyway."

Sokka stared at Toph, but that meant little to her. She couldn't read his stubborn expression. "I really don't like this, but I guess it would work. But I'd really feel better if someone went with-"

"What are you guys talking about?"

The Duke had walked up, a rucksack slung across his back. "You know the ships are ready to go, right?" he said. "I don't think they're going to wait much longer."

"We were just trying to figure out who would accompany Toph back to Gaoling," Katara explained. "She's certainly capable of going by herself-" That was clearly said just so Toph wouldn't snap at her…which she was getting ready to do. "-but we'd all feel better if she had someone to just make sure she was going the right direction."

"Oh," the Duke said with a shrug. "I could do that. I'm heading in that direction anyway."

Toph's eyes widened in surprise. She thought for sure he'd be going with.

"What about Pipsqueak?" Katara asked, clearly curious.

"Oh, he has a girlfriend now," The Duke said nonchalantly. "I've been doing my own thing for a while. We still keep in touch though. But yeah, I don't mind helping out."

"Excellent!" Sokka said happily, clapping his hands together. "This works out perfectly. Toph gets home, Katara gets to deliver gross baby animals, and everyone is happy!"

They said their goodbyes shortly after. Toph had originally only slugged Sokka in the shoulder, but didn't really put up a fight when he hugged her. Sokka hugs were nice, and she was sure she'd see even less of him now that he'd be tied down more often. Of course, Aang and Katara were very huggy, which she was used to, even if it was a bit smothery. But, soon enough, they'd all said goodbye, and Toph was on a boat with The Duke.

"So where are you heading?" Toph asked, not long after she felt the ship start to move. She felt very uncertain about things right now; the ship she was on wasn't even metal. It was wooden, which meant that if anything happened, she'd be practically defenseless.

Not that anything was likely to happen; it wasn't like the Fire Nation was going to attack anytime soon.

"Huh?" The Duke looked at her. They were leaning against the railing of the ship; Toph assumed that the Duke was looking out at something; she was just feeling the fresh air. "Oh, I don't know. I said that just so they'd stop arguing."

"What?" Toph was confused now. The Duke hadn't been lying earlier, when he said he was going in that direction. "But you weren't lying!"

"I know. I changed plans as soon as I realized that was holding us up. I was going to be going up and exploring the northern part of the Earth Kingdom, maybe up near the Freedom Fighter's old base, but hey, I can explore southern Earth Kingdom too." The Duke shrugged again. "I've never seen Gaoling before, so that should be fun."

Toph was quiet, facing the Duke. "You seriously changed all your plans just to make sure I don't travel alone?" She might have to punch him. Really, really hard. She wasn't fragile; hell, she was the best earth bender in the world- and most of the Earth Kingdom knew it (though, she'd heard that King Bumi of Omashu thought he was the greatest; one day, she'd challenge him to a match to prove him wrong).

"No, I changed all my plans so we could leave on time," the Duke said with a slight chuckle.

He was only partially lying, so Toph only half heartedly slugged him in the shoulder.

* * *

In the end, Toph was rather glad that the Duke ended up coming with her. It gave her someone to talk to, to play with and just generally pass the time with. He was rather cool for a thirteen year old, and was still as adventurous as he'd been as a child.

Late at night, when they couldn't sleep, they'd talk about the different things they'd done during the war. The Duke filled her in on the Freedom Fighters (who she'd heard bits and pieces about in Ba Sing Se, when Jet and Smellerbee and Longshot showed up), but wouldn't talk about before that. Which was fine with Toph; if he didn't want to talk about the family he'd probably once had, she wouldn't be the one to break the news to him that Jet had died.

It had been something Sokka, Aang, and Katara had all decided on, before the Day of Black Sun. Sokka knew any Freedom Fighters left would be gathered for the invasion, and it would only bring them down, to know their former leader was dead. And then the invasion had failed, and everyone's spirits were down, and there was no way they could let them in on the news. By the time everything was going smoothly again, it was too late and awkward to tell them.

Toph knew sometime on the way to Gaoling, she'd let the Duke know. Or maybe later, if she ever saw him again. But she had the feeling that deep down, he already knew.

Instead, she talked about being taught how to earth bend by badger-moles, and how she was still the champion of the Earth Rumble tournaments. And she filled him in on all of the travels with the Aang Gang that the Duke was a little fuzzy on.

It was just nice, to talk like this with someone. She hadn't gotten to just _talk_ in ages. Her parents couldn't converse with her about the things that interested her, and she lived far from everyone else. Goodness knows she didn't have any friends in Gaoling.

She was going to be a little sad to part with him, if she was honest with herself.

"The Duke?" Toph asked, as they walked through the Earth Kingdom. She had no idea where they were in relation to Gaoling, but the Duke said they could be there in a day or two.

"Yeah?"

"What's your real name?" she asked, and noticed how his whole body seemed to hesitate for a split second.

He was quiet for some time, and Toph began to wonder if that was the absolute wrong question to ask, or if he even knew.

"Sheng Li," the Duke finally said.

"Sheng Li?"

He was quiet, but she felt him nod.

"The Duke fits you better," Toph finally said.

"Why else do you think I chose to be called that?" the Duke said, with a grin to his voice.

* * *

Toph knew the second they reached Gaoling. She was so familiar with the land of this area, the feel of it all and all the familiar vibrations; she couldn't help but heave a heavy sigh.

"Not excited to be back?" The Duke asked.

"Not especially," Toph admitted, as they trudged down the road into town.

"Why's that?"

"My parents." Neither had brought up the subject of parents during the weeks they were together. The Duke's were surely dead, and Toph didn't really want to whine and grumble about her own.

"You aren't excited to see them?" She could tell the Duke was frowning, and she sighed again.

"My parents…don't really understand me," she said slowly. "They're trying to- my mom especially, but we really don't see eye to eye on much." She paused, leading the way through the town to her home. "They don't really like that I compete in the Earth Rumble competitions. They think that because I'm blind, I'm helpless, even though I'm not."

"That kind of sucks," the Duke said sympathetically.

"Tell me about it," Toph grumbled.

But, she and her parents were trying hard to come to some sort of happy medium. It was exhausting, for all of them. They wanted an obedient, ladylike daughter, which was who they'd thought they'd had the first twelve years of her life. But that was only because Toph hid herself- her real self- from them. And she couldn't do that anymore; she literally couldn't. She'd go crazy if she had to sit and be still and quiet all the time anymore.

_Especially_ now that she was known as one of the people who helped save the world, and it was well known that she was the only metal bender the world had.

She was badass, and she knew it, and her parents hated it.

It was just an all around struggle for everyone.

"Well," Toph said, as they reached the gate to her house, "we're here."

The Duke Froze completely, and gawked at the land in front of him. "_This_ is your house?"

"Yeah."

"This is almost as big as the palace in the Fire Nation!"

Toph laughed; it was an exaggeration, of course. Her home was nowhere near the size of Zuko's. She pushed open the doors, ignoring the guards on either side. She realized that the Duke wasn't walking behind her and stopped, turning around. "Aren't you coming?"

For some reason, Toph had just assumed that he'd come in, and spend the night; that they'd stay up late talking while he star gazed. She now realized that was kind of dumb; he'd come with her to make sure she got home, and he'd done that.

"Nah," the Duke said, though he seemed a little uncomfortable. "I've got to keep moving. You know, places to explore, new things to see."

"Right."

The Duke was very uncomfortable now, and Toph could not for the life of her figure out what it was. She took a few steps closer to him, and he a few towards her.

"I'll see you around though," he said. "I'll be sure to swing by the next time I come through."

"You'd better," Toph said flatly, and the Duke nodded.

"See you later," he said, and as she returned the notion, he started off, walking away from the Bei Fong home.

* * *

Hooray! Another chapter!

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	3. Home

Toph had forgotten how much being at home sucked.

She'd only been home for two days, but she was already missing the Duke a lot. During the five years that had passed since the end of the war, she'd forgotten how great it was to spend all hours of the day with friends, traveling and joking. She really liked that, and missed that.

Unfortunately, that wasn't really an option right now.

She and her parents had come to an agreement, and it was the only option really. Unfortunately, it was a rather drastic one. It was simply that, Toph could still compete in Earth Rumble tournaments (that her parents would not go to watch; it just was not dignified), and she could do generally as she pleased during the day so long that she was home in time for dinner (except on days with Earth Rumble matches), and behaved like a lady around her parents. And, she had to remain living at home (just like a lady) until she was married.

And her parents were really starting to push the marriage thing.

Toph was certain that her parents thought that if she was married, she'd 'calm down' or something. Like marriage would suddenly tame her. Psh; yeah right. Toph just wasn't like her parents were; she didn't care about high society rules and what have you. She tried to reason with them, argued with them, but nothing worked.

Basically, it was follow their rules, or be disowned. And considering that they were giving her a substantial amount of freedom, Toph wasn't really in the position to complain. At least, not yet.

She didn't really want to be disowned. They were her parents, and she did love them, and they loved her. They just simply did not see eye to eye on anything.

Which was why she was started to miss the Duke. She needed someone around who got her, understood her. When she had been part of the Aang Gang, she'd needed each of them, for different reasons. They each understood her in different ways and took on a different role around her that was just so perfect.

But, what was awesome about the Duke was that she never really felt the urge to leave him and hang out with someone else while they were traveling to Gaoling. Sure, that could had been because he was the only one there, but that didn't really mean anything. He still could have gotten on her nerves.

He hadn't though, and she missed him.

She was sitting in town, eating a papaya she'd bought, and generally ignoring the hushed whispers around her. Just because she was blind did not mean her ears didn't work as well; no, Toph had excellent hearing, and she was currently listening to a small gaggle of young boys urging each other on to ask for the Blind Bandit's autograph. It was funny that she still had that stage name for her fights; it had just stuck. But, she was certainly known world wide by now, as Toph Bei Fong, the earth bender who had helped save the world; Toph Bei Fong, the only metal bender the world had; Toph Bei Fong, the best earth bender in the world.

All were true, and all were equally welcomed by Toph. She liked the praise.

She _hated_ being asked for her autograph.

Toph had no idea what that meant, really. They wanted her to put her name on a piece of paper, but Toph didn't know what her name looked like, what _any_ character looked like. And the worst part was that she was _still _known as the _Blind_ Bandit. You'd think that would imply that she couldn't write!

Apparently not, because at least once a week she was asked for an autograph.

And, here was coming this week's attempt to get it, in the form of a young boy. Before the kid got within five feet of her, Toph faced the boy, and said flatly, "I can't write. I can't see; I can't give you an autograph."

The boy stopped dead in his tracks. "O-oh, right…." He remained standing there for a few seconds before turning around, and leaving.

Figures. Toph went back to eating her papaya.

"Wow, way to break that kid's heart."

Toph nearly jumped out of her skin at that; the voice was _right next to her_ and she'd been so focused on the kid that she had completely turned out everything else around her. But, within a second, she knew who it was.

"The Duke!" she cried, and then punched him hard, right in the shin. "What are you doing here? I thought you left."

The Duke didn't answer right away. He was busy rubbing his shin, which made Toph feel a little better about him scaring her. He'd learn his lesson now. "Who said I left? I just said I'd see you later." He sat down next to her, and said, "So how on earth did I scare you?"

"You didn't; you just surprised me," Toph said, frowning. She was not going to admit that she'd been scared. "Besides, I wasn't paying attention to _everything._ I can only focus on so many vibrations at once, especially out in the middle of town like this."

"So, the key to sneaking up on you is in a crowd," the Duke said thoughtfully, and then snickered. "Good to know."

"If you sneak up on me again, I will rockalanche you straight into the closest wall," Toph said warningly.

The Duke laughed. "Okay, okay! There will be no sneaking up on you in future. Freedom Fighter's honor." He stretched his legs out in front of him, leaning against the wall of a building. "So what are you doing out here, eating fruit on the street?"

"Beats being at home," Toph said simply. "So what happened the other day? You got really shifty when we reached my house."

"Oh." The Duke scratched the back of his neck. "I don't really…like going to people's homes. It's a weird tick, I guess. But going in homes, and meeting parents…. It's all really weird. I can't remember the last time I was in someone's _house_."

"It's really been that long?" Toph couldn't help but to find that hard to believe.

"Yep. I sleep outside, in tents, in tree houses, caves. But, homes…." The Duke trailed off, and Toph could tell this was subject that he wouldn't get further into. Just like his name and his past. They were all tied tightly together, and it was some stupid secret thing. Even if he had shared his name, but he hadn't sound okay with it that time.

Fine. If he didn't want to say more, she wouldn't push it.

"There's an Earth Rumble match tonight," Toph said, spitting out a papaya seed. "Want to come watch?"

The Duke nodded. "Sure, why not? That could be kind of exciting."

* * *

"_That was so awesome_!"

Toph grinned as she walked back to her home with the Duke. It was well into the evening now, and the match had ended. Since it was a well known fact that Toph was, well, awesome, the stakes had been raised. Very rarely did Toph ever go into a match against one person. It was usually two on one or three on one, and she beat them every time.

"The way you rocketed that one guy out of the ring, and- oh man, they never stood a chance against you!"

The Duke had been geeking out over her victory for the past ten minutes or so; it was clear he'd never, ever seen a tournament before.

"Yeah, I am pretty badass," Toph said with a grin. "Think you'll come see another?"

"Definitely! That was awesome!" the Duke said excitedly. "I've never seen anyone fly through the air like that! Really, Toph, you are on a whole different level with earth bending. Kind of makes me wish I could earth bend, just so you could teach me."

Toph snickered a little. "Since you aren't a big old softie like Aang, I'd be all for it. It was brutal, trying to get him started."

"Really? The Avatar had trouble?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Toph said, shaking her head.

"Weird. I always thought the Avatar would have it easy," the Duke said, and then stopped talking and walking. They'd come to Toph's front gate.

She sighed. "You aren't going to get all weird again, are you?" she asked. "It's just a house; it's not going to eat you."

"I won't get 'all weird' as long as you don't make me go inside," the Duke replied, and there was a slight sharp tone to his voice.

"Fine, fine, but I do have to go inside," Toph pointed out, to which the Duke shrugged.

"That's fine." He paused. "So…I'll catch you later then?"

"You got it."

* * *

"Toph dear?"

Toph was in her room, putting on her wrist cuffs. It was always the last thing she put on before going out, which meant that her mother chose the worst time to try and talk to her; Toph was attempting go out.

"Yes mom?" Toph replied, and the door to her room slid open further. It took a lot of practice to get used to saying that, instead of just 'yeah.'

"Do you mind if we talk a little?"

Absolutely. "Not at all," Toph said, and her mother came into her bedroom, taking a seat on her bed.

"I haven't seen you much since you came home from the wedding," Poppy said. "We haven't had the chance to really talk, except at dinner. I was hoping to spend some time with you today."

Ouch. Her mother really did try to understand her; she just did things…in a not very Toph way. Sitting and talking politely wasn't exactly Toph's idea of fun. Plus, she was supposed to find the Duke in the town today. It had turned into a game, since he'd initially surprised her. He would simply wait for her to find him in a crowd. It was fun, especially if it was really crowded.

"I'm actually meeting someone in a little bit," Toph said, adjusting the cuffs on her wrist. She was eager to get going, but she couldn't really escape politely right now.

"Is it that boy?"

Now that surprised Toph? "What boy?" she instinctively said, having learned to hide most things from her parents.

Her mother sighed. "I've been curious about where you've gone, Toph, and spoke to the guards. They said whenever you come home at night, you're with a boy." And then, slowly, Toph could feel a smile in her voice. "Is it someone you're interested in?"

Oh man. Toph should have known this would happen. Her mother had been very interested in suitors for Toph, which Toph hated the idea of. So, her spending time with a boy would of course get her excited.

"No." Toph said that perhaps a bit more forcefully than was necessary. But, she needed to make that clear. "He's a friend from when I traveled with the Avatar."

"I see." Poppy was quiet a moment. "What's his family like?"

Toph nearly slammed her head against the wall. His mother wasn't asking to see if they were nice people, but to see what sort of connections they had. "He's an orphan, and he's _thirteen_. We are just friends, Mom."

'Orphan' was all that Poppy needed to hear. "Oh, I see," she said, and then stood up. "Make sure you're home for dinner, Toph, and please, be careful."

Toph sighed. "I will, Mom…."

* * *

"Hey Toph."

"Yeah?"

She and the Duke were outside of the town, leaning against a tree where it was quiet. Neither had been in the mood to deal with the town today, and had opted for some quiet peacefulness on a hill overlooking the town.

"I think I'm going to leave Gaoling tomorrow."

"What?" Toph sat up straight, rolling over to face the Duke. "Why?"

"I've been here for two weeks," the Duke said simply.

"So? What does that mean?" Toph asked, not liking this. The Duke couldn't leave. He wasn't allowed to leave.

"That's the longest I've been anywhere at one time since the war ended," he explained. "I'm not used to staying still like this."

"You're thirteen, not an air bender," Toph said crossly.

The Duke laughed. "What do the two have to do with each other?"

"Everything," she said, and slumped back against the tree, folding her arms over her chest. This was just perfect, absolutely peachy. Whatever; she didn't need to depend on anyone else for amusement, anyway. This was just convenient, that was all.

"Don't get so upset-"

"Why would you say I'm upset?" Toph retorted quickly. "I'm not upset. I'm fine."

The Duke shifted to see her better. "Well, you're mad at me."

"Whatever."

He sighed. "I can't stay any longer."

"Why the hell not?"

The Duke seemed to be struggling to explain, the way he did about homes and the past and things. Toph was both curious and annoyed by this. "If I stay longer, where I'm at starts to feel like…home."

"…_That's_ why you're leaving?"

There was another heavy sigh. "Yep."

"That's really dumb."

The Duke fell silent after that, and Toph was just getting more annoyed. Finally, after a moment, she stood up, and started down the hill.

"Where are you going?" the Duke called after her.

"Home," Toph said, and bitterly called back to him, "and don't bother following me, since it _clearly_ makes you uncomfortable."

It kind of bothered her that the Duke said nothing in response. And, hours later, it bothered her that he hadn't come looking for her. She hadn't gone inside the gate, but remained just outside of it. It was weird and stupid, and she couldn't explain why she'd done it, but she wasn't about to analyze everything she did.

And the next day, she didn't find him anywhere.

Or the day after.

He'd really gone.

* * *

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	4. The Duke

The Duke had to leave Gaoling. He really couldn't stay any longer at all, not after how…nice it was getting. How at ease and at home he felt.

Home was a hard thing for the Duke. If you had a home, you could lose it. And that was exactly what happened to all of the Duke's homes. He'd had a real family once; a mother, a father, an older sister and a younger brother. But then the Fire nation had come, and they'd all been killed, and the town they'd lived in was destroyed.

And the Duke had been on his own at age eight.

He was tough and resilient, and that was how he got by, for nearly a year. He was small, and easily overlooked, and thus could steal food that he needed, and sneak into places to sleep and stay. He had always been feisty, always had the need to prove himself, that he was just as strong as anyone.

And then, he'd finally had a reason for it. He had to, just to survive.

But then he'd stumbled upon the Freedom Fighters, and was allowed to join them. And that became another family for him, another home. He'd had a whole band of brothers and sisters to look up to and look after; it had been exactly what he'd needed.

But that fell apart too. The Freedom Fighters had disbanded, and Smellerbee and Longshot and Jet had gone to Ba Sing Se, without him. So he stuck with Pipsqueak; they'd been closer anyway.

It was hard, though. Jet had become a sort of father figure to the Duke. He still thought about him, still wondered what had happened. There was a distinct chance that he was alive, but knowing Jet, he probably crossed the wrong people at the wrong time. Something told him he was dead.

But, he'd stuck with Pipsqueak, and for a long time.

Until Pipsqueak got a girlfriend, when the Duke was twelve. After that, the Duke just saw everything going downhill. Jet had lost his touch, his urgency as a Freedom Fighter, after meeting, and becoming interested in, Katara. Pipsqueak would change to, and besides; girlfriends become wives, and who wants some kid hanging around when you're building a family?

So the Duke had left Pipsqueak, and that had hurt, even if he'd been the one to make the decision. Everytime he felt like he was home…it fell apart, or it ended, or it was taken from him.

So, he'd rather end it all, rather than be hurt in the long run.

Which was why he had to leave Gaoling. It wasn't just that he was getting to know the town, and the people, and the hustle and bustle of everything.

There was Toph.

He'd always liked Toph. They got along well, even back during the war. She had a no nonsense way about her that he'd always liked; she'd tell it to you straight, and not take any shit from anyone.

And even at the young age of eight, he'd respected that.

But after seeing her at Sokka and Suki's wedding, he'd been taken away. Maybe he hadn't noticed, being that young, or she'd _really_ changed over the years, but it struck him immediately: Toph was beautiful.

She'd let her hair grow out from the short style she'd had before; it reached to midback now, and was thick and shiny and it made the Duke just want to stroke it, to see if it was as soft as it seemed. And she was so much more womanly now; sure, she was short (which the Duke liked _a lot_), but she had a figure now. Not has curvaceous as Katara's (but then again, who else had a body like hers), but Toph was definitely a woman now.

And that had been why he'd sought her out during the wedding celebration, when he noticed she'd gone missing.

And why he'd offered to escort her home.

They had fun together, and the more time they spent together, the more the Duke's feelings for Toph grew.

It wasn't until he realized he could happily stay in Gaoling forever with Toph that the Duke made the decision to leave.

* * *

Super short, but necessary.

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	5. A Letter from the Avatar

Two years passed by too quickly, and yet agonizingly slowly. It often perplexed Toph as to how this could happen simultaneously, but it did. It seemed like no time had passed at all since the Duke left, and yet, each day crept by and made Toph want to bash her head against a wall.

Her parents had suddenly become obsessed with finding her a husband, and it was enough to drive her insane.

They wanted her to be 'taken care of', they said, that she shouldn't have to compete in Earth Rumble tournaments to make money. She shouldn't have to work at all, according to their reasoning; she should be bale to live as a house wife.

As if that was what Toph wanted.

And there were plenty of men out there willing to take up the position of the providing husband. After all, Toph would inherit an obscene amount of money one day, and she was one of, if not the most famous earth bender in the entire world. She really was a prize to be won.

Toph really didn't like this. She hated it. She hated how, once a week or month, a new suitor came by, to meet the family and Toph, to discuss his wealth and status, and then she'd have to spend a little time with him, to see how she liked him.

Toph didn't need to spend time with any of the suitors. She already knew she hated them. It didn't matter that they all were very nice and courteous. They wanted to marry her for what she was; a rich, important, famous girl. They didn't know her, and that bothered her immensely.

Not to mention, she wasn't a fan of marriage in general. It kept Sokka from visiting her, for once; she got letters from him, each saying that he'd try to come up 'with the family', but things were too busy. Suki had been pregnant in the last letter.

Marriage meant being tied down, and Toph wasn't really about all of that. She liked her freedom, damn it.

But, that was hard to explain to her parents. They truly believed she needed a husband in order to be out on her own, and as much as Toph wanted to just say screw it all and just _leave_…she did love her parents. And she didn't want to not ever see them again, which was, according to her father, what would happen if she didn't comply to this one thing.

So, Toph put up with meeting the suitors. And, she found ways to entertain herself with it, especially when the whole family was together, asking the young men questions. Toph could _always_ tell when they were lying, and always announced it when they were.

Many a man was very surprised by this, and didn't know how to cover it up. They couldn't just come out and say that her being blind could be an issue, or her need for freedom, or that part of the reason why they were here was because of the substantial fortune they'd inherit by marrying her.

And the best part of that was she could use that as a reason for why she didn't want to see them again.

And they were slowly running out of what her parents considered suitable for marriage.

Slowly, but not yet. And Toph was tired of it, tired of having to spend time with some man who she didn't know, who didn't understand her, once a month. She missed her friends, missed just doing whatever she wanted. She was beginning to seriously consider being cut off from her family forever, just to be able to live the way she wanted.

And that was when the Duke came back.

She'd been out in the garden when she realized it. Unfortunately, she wasn't alone. No, she had some man with her, who was doing his best to butter her up, by telling her how pretty she was; that was what she hated the most. Not them wanting her for her fortune, but the artificial compliments. She was _blind_; 'pretty' meant absolutely nothing to her. Did they really think she'd swoon and fawn over that?

But, she could tell the Duke was there, sitting on the wall overlooking the garden, hidden in an overgrown tree. If Rico Suave here had been elsewhere, she would've brought the wall down and said hello to him. But…the last thing she needed right now was to have to explain to her parents why she ignored this guy.

It wasn't until the man left that Toph returned out to the wall, but the Duke was gone.

Sort of.

He kept popping up here, there and everywhere, and never when Toph was free to greet him. And he never came up to her, not once. That was the most infuriating part. He was close enough to see her in most cases, if not blatantly stalking her; he was making sure to follow her, so he knew she was there. Why the hell was he not actually greeting her?

It was infuriating. She just wanted to see her friends, and now one was here, and she was never able to find him when she was able to spend time with him. It was like he was purposely avoiding her.

But why on earth was he here, in Gaoling, if not to see her?

Toph was just getting more and more pissed off over this. First he leaves over a stupid ass reason, without saying goodbye, and now, he's stalking her with no intention of ever actually seeing her.

This was not okay, and it was not going to continue.

One day, when she had been out for a walk with yet another suitor, she felt him, up in a tree, and like hell was she going to let him get away.

"Chen, I left my shawl at home, and I'm rather cold," she said to the man she was with. "Do you mind fetching it for me?"

The man clearly didn't like the idea of leaving her alone. "Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?"

"I'm fine, just cold. I'm able to take care of myself out here."

He hesitated, then said, "I'll be back in a moment."

Toph waited until he was far enough away, feeling his footsteps go down a hill. And then, as soon as he wouldn't be alarmed by the noise, she set to work, earth bending to uproot the tree, and force the Duke out of it.

"H-hey!"

The Duke had cried out as the tree fell over, but Toph was sure he'd be fine. And if he wasn't, well, he deserved it.

"What the hell was that for?" the Duke cried as he scrambled out of the branches. "You could've killed me!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been hiding up in that tree, spying on me!" Toph snapped back.

"I wasn't spying!"

"Oh, right. And you weren't spying in town two days ago, or on the garden wall last week, right?"

The Duke was silent. She'd caught him.

"So, what the hell is your problem?" she snapped again. "You follow me around for the past two weeks, but you can't say hi?"

The Duke hesitated. "I wasn't sure you'd want to see me."

"So you _stalk_ me?"

"Well…I wanted to see you." He said it rather shyly, like he didn't want to admit it. The Duke was weird that way; she'd forgotten that tendency of his, to admit things quietly, hesitantly.

"Next time," she said, folding her arms over her chest, "just come and say hi, got it?"

"You got it." There was a smile to his voice.

And the suitor was coming back; she could feel his footsteps coming their way. "You need to get lost; Chen is coming back."

"Who's Chen? Who are all the guys you've been hanging out with, anyway?"

"Men who want to marry me," Toph said nonchalantly. There was an immediate reaction in the Duke, one she couldn't quite place.

"Oh, okay. I'll see you-"

"Tonight."

"Tonight," the Duke confirmed, before running off.

It was only a moment or so later that Chen returned, and stopped dead in his tracks. "What-what happened?" he cried. "Are you hurt?"

"Oh, I just thought that there was some sort of scary animal up in the tree, so I brought the tree down." She grinned a little, enjoying Chen's reaction.

They always seemed to forget that she wasn't fragile and weak.

* * *

Toph had to wait until her parents were asleep to sneak out. It wasn't hard to tell when that was, but she'd had to wait a while. She sincerely hoped that the Duke didn't go chicken shit on her, and actually showed up; she'd hate to have to kick his ass.

Luckily, she wouldn't have to. When she got over the wall around the garden, the Duke was there, waiting for her.

"What took you so long?" he asked

"My parents were still awake," Toph explained, dusting herself off a little. "C'mon, let's walk." She started off, heading away from the house, and to the town.

"So where have you been?" she asked as they walked.

"Oh…everywhere. I visited Omashu, went to Haru's village, headed to the Si Wong Desert, but I didn't actually go in there," the Duke said. "I don't know why anyone would explore a desert, though; too much sand and sun, and not enough water."

"I hate deserts," Toph said rather bitterly. After the Team Avatar trip into the Si Wong Desert, Toph had forever written off deserts. Sand bending was difficult, she could hardly see, and she did not need memories of letting down the gang when Appa was taken.

"Me too." There was a pause. "So, you're…getting married soon, I take it?"

Toph groaned, letting her head fall back a little. "No, I'm not. My parents just want me to be married."

"And those guys….?"

"Were found by my parents, not me," Toph said, scorn clear in her voice. "Believe me, this is not something I want to deal with right now. I don't even want to get married."

The Duke seemed very relieved to hear this, but Toph didn't have time to comment on that. Someone was running their way.

"Who's that?" she asked, not recognizing the footsteps.

"I have no idea; I'm not from this town," the Duke said, chuckling a little.

The runner was slowing down, and Toph was prepared to defend herself if need be when the person called out, "Do you know where the Bei Fong house is? I have an urgent letter from the Avatar."

Toph's eyes widened in surprise, and the Duke's stance changed. "I'm Toph Bei Fong," Toph said, and held out her hand. "I'll take the letter."

"_You're_ Toph Bei Fong?" The man said, clearly shocked. "I never expected you to be so small."

"No one does," Toph said, a little annoyed. "Now where's the letter?"

"Here." A rolled up scroll was placed in her open hand. Toph promptly held it out to the Duke.

"Read this out loud," she said simply.

"Oh! That's right! You're blind!" the man said. "The Blind Bandit; of course!"

"Yes, I'm blind. Now don't you have somewhere else to be?" She really didn't need this man standing around, if this was something important and classified.

"Yes, of course. Have a good night!" The man sprinted off again.

"I wonder if he runs everywhere he goes," the Duke commented, clearly amused.

"Who cares? What's the letter say?"

There was the scraping of paper as the Duke unrolled the letter. "Dear Toph," he started to read, "You'll never guess what. Katara and I are…." He stopped.

"Are what?" Toph asked, annoyed that he wasn't reading fast enough.

The Duke swallowed. "Getting married," he said. "At the end of summer. They want you to come and….to bring me or Pipsqueak or Teo, whoever you can find. Apparently, they can't figure out where any of us are, and were hoping you would." He rolled the scroll up again.

"Twinkle-Toes is getting married?" Toph cried, then slapped a hand to her forehead. "I'm gonna have to wear a fancy dress, aren't I?"

"Mmm, probably not," the Duke said, which caused Toph to breathe a sigh of relief. "They're getting married in the South Pole."

"Woop-de-do."

The Duke laughed. "We'll have to get going tomorrow or the next day though," he said. "The end of summer is only in a couple weeks; we'll need that time to get there."

"_Perfect!_" Toph cried, shooting her hands in the air. "I finally get to leave Gaoling again!"

* * *

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	6. To the South Pole

Traveling to the south pole was much more enjoyable than the journey two years ago to Kiyoshi Island. For one, Toph actually liked her guide across the Earth Kingdom; instead of it being some stuffy old man who refused to let her sleep out in the elements, surrounded by her earth tent (he'd insisted on getting rooms at inns! It had been ridiculous), it was the Duke. Her parents hadn't been too keen on the idea of a fifteen year old boy being her travel mate, but once she explained that he was also going to the wedding, and that he'd helped out in the battles against the Fire Nation, they'd relented.

And thank goodness that they had. Toph would have ditched the guide if she'd been forced to travel with him again.

Time went by quicker with the Duke. She could actually talk to him, and play jokes on him, and have him try to play jokes on her (he usually failed). The slept out in the open at night, which was fine by them both. The Duke didn't like staying in rooms anymore, and she preferred sleeping on the ground.

It only took them a little less than two weeks to reach the port that their ship was docked in. Toph wasn't too happy about traveling by boat, but how else was she going to get to the south pole?

Everything went by as well as it could. Toph put up with being surrounded by water, and she and the Duke bunked together. They passed the time as best as they could; Toph had gotten fairly good at amusing herself.

But…it started to get colder, very gradually; the temperature slowly dropped, and the further south they went, the more layers everyone wore, until it became standard to wear a parka whenever going out of the cabin. Toph didn't like to do that; her feet got cold, upon leaving the cabin.

She refused to wear socks or boots. They would keep her from seeing well, or at all! Toph refused to actually be blind.

But she was getting bored to death of being in their cabin all day and all night.

"Hey, the Duke?" she said one day. She was lying on the floor of their room, he was sprawled over his bunk.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go out on deck. I need fresh air."

"You gonna put boots on?"

Toph made a face. "Of course not. Do you want me to wander around blindly and fall overboard?"

The Duke sighed from somewhere above her. "You're going to get cold, you know that?"

"I can take it," she said, sitting up. "I'm tough."

"Yup. You're tough, Toph." The Duke chuckled, clearly thinking he was clever at realizing her name sounded similar to 'tough.' Toph simply didn't react to that, and got up, grabbing the long parka. It was warm and soft, which was nice, but it kind of really sucked that the south pole happened to be cold.

She pulled on the parka, fastening the buttons as she waited for the Duke to come down from the top bunk, and get dressed as well, for the cooler weather outside. There were gloves inside a pocket the parka had, and she pulled them on.

"Are you ready yet?" she asked, as the Duke seemingly lazily put on his parka.

"Mmmm, almost," he said, and just stood in front of her for a moment.

"Did you forget something?"

"Yeah, actually, I did," he said, and Toph was certain something was up from his tone. He reached toward her, and she braced herself; she couldn't exactly earth bend here, and metal bending a sheet a metal at his face would just be cruel. She'd just punch him, if she decided what he'd done deserved it.

Instead of pinching her or something, he grabbed her hood and pulled it up, over her head, and then yanked it down, in front of her eyes.

"Woop de doo," Toph said sarcastically, not bothering to push the hood back. "I can't see anyway, smartass."

"I know," the Duke said, walking past her to open the door. "It just looks cute."

_Cute_? Where the hell did that come from? That was unnecessary. Shoving her hood back, she stomped out of the room, being sure to punch the Duke hard in the shoulder as she passed him.

He'd only laughed in response, which was kind of annoying. But not really. At least he could take a hit without being a baby.

Toph could feel the difference in the metal floors the closer she got to the door to the outside. It was smaller, if that even made any sense, and tighter, and holy cripes, it was cold! They weren't even outside yet, and she was already considering turning back.

But no way. She said she could handle it, and she was going to fucking handle it, damn it. Stubbornly, she opened the door to the outside, and her toes immediately curled in a little; it was considerably colder than the inside.

"Something wrong?" the Duke asked, standing behind her.

"No," Toph said quickly, before adding, "I didn't expect it to be this cold."

"Want to get your-"

"I'm not putting any boots on," Toph snapped, and then stepped out the doorway, and immediately yelped, jumping back, into the Duke. He grabbed her shoulders, catching her so she didn't fall.

"What? What is it?"

"It's…." Toph didn't know how to describe it. The second her feet hit the ground, it was like a thousand tiny pins and needles were stabbing at her feet; _frozen _pins and needles. "It's…cold. I wasn't ready."

She pushed out of his grip, and, now more prepared, stepped outside again. Eep! There it was, that pins and needles feeling. But damn it, she was going to do this! Gritting her teeth, she took a few steps; it was difficult to navigate her way around the deck; with the cold, stabbing feeling, it was hard to see past that, and pick up on vibrations around her. She reached back, grabbing at the Duke's arm.

"Let's go to the rail," she said, deciding to hide the fact that she wasn't completely certain of where everything was, and that she'd let him lead the way, without him knowing it.

"Okay," the Duke said with a shrug, and started walking. Toph moved with him, not going too far ahead so that she didn't accidentally move in the wrong direction, and not too far behind so that it was obvious she was relying on him.

But she really was. Her feet were so cold! They had only been out for a moment or so, and they felt frozen. She wiggled her toes a little once they reached the rail.

"See anything out there?" she asked, concentrating on trying to move body heat down to her feet. It wasn't working.

"Mmmnnn, not really," the Duke said. "There are icebergs out there, but not near us. We're probably really close."

"Iceberg?" Toph repeated. She'd never really heard the term before, but she imagined it was something big and made of ice from the sounds of it.

"Yeah. They're big, white chunks of ice, just floating out in the ocean," the Duke explained. She decided not to bring up that it was stupid that he'd used a color to describe it.

"That sounds stupid. No land anywhere?"

"No, but I don't think we'll see much land out here," the Duke said. "The south pole isn't really land. It's just lots and lots of frozen snow and-"

Toph raised a hand, silencing the Duke. "Wait," she said, clearly unhappy about something. "There isn't _land_? No _earth_? No rocks?"

"That's what I've heard."

She let out a frustrated yell. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Toph cried. "Why would anyone live on a chunk of ice? What if it melts?" It sounded incredibly dumb and terrible. At least the stabbing feelings in her feet were starting to go away; they were kind of dulled now.

The Duke laughed. "It won't melt. It's the south pole, Toph; it's frozen all year round."

"So it never gets warmer?"

"Nope."

"What is wrong with the Water Tribes?" Toph shook her head. "No wonder Sokka and Katara are so weird!"

The Duke laughed again, and knocked her shoulder with his. "I don't know. I couldn't live there. I like plants and trees, and warm weather."

"Oh no!" Toph's jaw dropped as she suddenly realized something. "I'm not going to be able to see there! There won't be any earth at all for- Damn it! Why did they have to get married _here_, and not an air temple, or in the earth kingdom, or on some stupid island? Augh!"

Apparently her rants about the lack of earth and heat in the south pole were highly entertaining, because the Duke just kept laughing. "Toph, you'll have to wear boots there anyway. It's all snow and ice; your feet will turn blue and have to be cut off if you go barefoot."

Toph slumped against the railing, grumbling. "I hate the south pole," she announced.

The Duke chuckled, clapping her on the shoulder. "It's only for a few days. How are your feet, anyway?"

"They're fine," Toph said. They didn't feel very cold anymore at all.

"You're sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! Jeez, I'm not some baby."

"I just thought I'd ask." The Duke was quiet for a moment. "I'm going to get some tea. Do you want some?"

"No," Toph said with a sigh.

"Okay. I'll be right back." She heard the Duke walk away…and then suddenly, it registered that she didn't see him, with her feet, walk away. She'd only felt it. In fact, now that she thought about it, she couldn't see anything. Nothing. Not her surroundings, not the people she heard ten feet to her left.

Her feet weren't picking up on _anything._

"Wait!" Toph cried out, a little frantically, and turned to follow, but promptly fell; she hadn't been able to feel where she'd stepped and stepped wrong or weird, or something, and had just gone down.

What was going on? This wasn't right, her feet weren't supposed to do this. She grabbed her foot; she could tell she was holding it, but…she didn't feel the softness of the gloves she was wearing against it.

She couldn't feel anything at all with her feet.

"The Duke!" she screamed, ignoring the fact that there were others around, and that she could be perceived as weak. This was an _emergency_.

She could bear him running to her. "What happened? Did you fall?" His hand was on her shoulder.

"Obviously," she snapped. "There's something wrong- I can't see!"

Clearly, the Duke didn't understand the gravity of the situation, because he took a few seconds to answer. And when he did speak, he sounded rather uncertain. "Is this just a trick to see if I remember that you're blind?"

"No! I can't see!" she insisted again. "My _feet_ can't see!"

The Duke was quiet, and then he spoke again. "Can you feel this?"

"Feel what?"

He muttered something incomprehensible, and then said, "Your feet are numb, Toph; they're frozen. C'mon, I'll get you inside."

An arm slid under her legs, another supporting her back, and then she was lifted up; Toph couldn't help but to cling a little to the Duke. This scared her more than anything. Toph relied so heavily on her feet; they were what made her the most powerful earth bender in the world. Sure, her hands worked just as well, but she didn't walk on her hands, now did she? She wasn't that girl who used to hang out with Azula!

She needed her feet to see, to bend, to walk, to be independent. And she was really scared that her feet might be doing that 'blue' thing the Duke had mentioned. The idea of losing her feet scared her.

"Are my feet blue?" Toph asked, sometime after they were back inside the ship, and probably headed for their cabin?

"Huh? They're just numb," the Duke said. "Kind of pale."

"Not blue?"

"No, not blue."

Toph relaxed a little. But only a little, since she still couldn't feel much of anything with her feet. Hopefully the Duke knew how to fix her feet; if not, maybe they could find a water bender who could do it.

Toph wasn't even aware that they'd reached their cabin until she was put on the floor, and she set a hand down on the ground, to feel her surroundings. Things were fuzzy, though the glove, and the quickly took her gloves off before placing her hand on the ground again. The Duke was doing something with the beds, and then a blanket hit the ground.

"We just have to warm up your feet," the Duke said, crouching by her feet. "Then you'll be back to normal."

* * *

The Duke was silently cursing Toph's stubbornness as he diligently rubbed her feet through the blanket he'd draped over them. If she hadn't said anything, she probably would have ended up with frostbite.

Toph had been scared. That was easy enough to see, and he'd never known her to be scared. She'd fought against Fire Lord Ozai, against Azula and her team; she was practically fearless. It- it had scared him a little to see her so scared.

But, it also filled him with the need to…to help her, to end whatever was scaring her and make it better. It made him feel important, to be the one that had realized what had happened, and was making it right again. He knew these moments would be rare; Toph was independent, and more than capable of taking care of herself.

"You've never dealt with cold weather before?" the Duke questioned, as he carefully and gently, but firmly, rubbed her feet with the blanket. He knew soon enough, she'd get a weird prickly feeling as the blood started flowing back into her feet.

"Not really," Toph admitted. "Earth Rumble tournaments are only in the spring and summer, and that was really the only time I ever left the house when I was younger. And it doesn't snow that often in Gaoling. It gets cold, but not _this_ cold."

"You're going to have to wear boots if you go out now, you realize that?" the Duke asked.

Toph let out a frustrated grumble, and fell back against the floor. "I hate the south pole," she announced. "This is the worst vacation ever."

* * *

Woo for longest chapter yet! At least, I think it is.

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	7. Before the Wedding

"Toph! The Duke! You made it!"

Katara's voice rang out from somewhere ahead, and Toph could hear the quick crunching sound of boots in the snow heading her way. Toph could only assume that Katara was running toward her; she really couldn't tell though, being carried on the Duke's back, and besides; it wasn't like she'd feel a damn thing in the snow, with her boots on.

She was officially completely blind, without the use of her earthbending to see. And Toph didn't like it one bit. She actually felt handicapped, for the first time in her life. One the ship, she'd tried out walking in both socks, and socks and boots. She could sort of get around in just socks, which worked well enough on the ship. Things were fuzzy; she often mistook the Duke for being closer than he actually was, when she wore the socks. But with the boots as well, she couldn't make out anything at all.

It was after her one and only try of walking around with boots on that she flat out told the Duke that he was going to be the one to help her get around, and preferably by carrying her; she wasn't going to take a chance of walking off the ice and into the freezing water, where she'd drown and die. The Duke had laughed after that explanation, but agreed.

And that was why she was on his back right now. The ship had docked, and Toph refused to actually walk through the snow after a step or two in it. The consistency was weird and foreign and she didn't like it.

"Hey Katara!" the Duke said happily, coming to a stop.

Toph didn't bother giving Katara a greeting, and instead opted to give her a piece of her mind. "Why the hell do you live _here_?" she demanded, as the Duke crouched down, clearly to let her off his back. She slid off, but then grabbed hold of his elbow; he wasn't going anywhere without her. "It's too cold, and there's no earth at all and I _can't see!_"

Katara didn't seem to care to reply, because suddenly, Toph found herself enveloped in a very tight hug. "I'm just so happy you came!" she said, still hugging Toph, who'd been forced to let go of the Duke in the hug. "Aang and I were so worried that you might not get the letter in time, and that you wouldn't find anyone else to bring, but you found the Duke!"

"Jeez, Sugar Queen, calm down," Toph said, but she smiled and blushed anyway. Just because Katara was fine with being super soft and emotional over things didn't mean that Toph was. "The Duke was visiting me anyway when the letter arrived. It just happened to work out."

"I'm glad," Katara said, letting go of Toph. "And it's great to see you too, the Duke." There was some rustling, that surely meant a hug was being given to him as well.

"I know; it's always fun seeing everyone again."

Toph was certain the hug would be over, and to make sure the Duke didn't forget about her and walk off and leave her stranded forever, she reached out, to grab his shoulder again. However, instead, he placed his hand in hers, and held it discretely at his side.

"Aang will be so happy you're both here," Katara said, taking Toph's attention from what the Duke had done. "He's in the village, helping rebuild an igloo."

"What's an igloo?" Toph asked, a little distracted. The Duke had took her hand. He was holding her hand; that was such a soft gesture, not a helping one.

"Oh, it's our homes; they're made of ice," Katara said.

"Even your homes are made of ice?"

The Duke laughed, and Katara chuckled, albeit a little nervously. "There isn't much else here to make houses out of," she explained. "They're actually very warm on the inside."

"Psh, if you say so," Toph said skeptically.

There was a brief pause, which the Duke broke by saying, "Let's go find Aang; I haven't seen him in ages."

"Yeah, let's go find Twinkle-Toes," Toph agreed, eager to see everyone once again.

* * *

"_When did you get so tall?"_

Aang laughed, and let go of Toph after her outcry. He'd hugged her quickly, just like Katara had, as soon as they got to the village; she hadn't realized that he was there, of course, but she had realized they had to be in the village. There had been more noises; people talking, footsteps and the like. It hadn't been until Aang had swept her up into a tight hug that she'd even known he'd been around, let alone _right there_.

And when he'd hugged her, her face had been crushed against his chest, meaning he was a friggin' giant now.

"He went through a growth spurt last year," Katara said, from Toph's side.

"I'm taller than Sokka now," Aang said, a little proudly. "Almost a head taller than him."

There was a 'tsk' from nearby. "Yeah, but I'm still better at hunting and fishing," said a voice that was clearly Sokka's.

This was really disarming, not knowing _exactly_ where everyone was; Toph hated it that she hadn't known Sokka was there. But then he was _right there_ and hugging her too.

They were a really huggy group now, apparently.

"It's good to see you, Toph," Sokka said as he let go of her. "You too, the Duke."

"Wish I could say the same," Toph said.

There was a pause, and then Sokka laughed. "Right! 'Cause you're blind!"

"Yes," Toph said dryly. Completely blind, and hating every minute of it. She didn't know where anyone was, and she didn't know if the Duke had left her side or not, but she wasn't about to reach out for him and seem stupid or something.

"Where's Suki?" the Duke asked, and Toph breathed a soft sigh of relief. He hadn't moved. He was right next to her still, and certain of this, she was able to grab his elbow again.

"Oh, she's inside, working on finishing touches for Katara's dress for tomorrow," Sokka said, sounding only slightly annoyed. "Apparently, not even _I'm_ allowed to see it. I've been kicked out of my own home!"

"Wait," Toph interrupted. "_Tomorrow_? That's when the wedding is?"

"Mmmyep!" Sokka said. "So you guys got here just in time! Zuko and Mai have been here for half a week, and Ty Lee arrived yesterday."

"I don't think Mai likes the cold," Aang added in. "She's been so quiet and serious."

Sokka snorted. "I think that's how she always is, Aang."

"We weren't sure if you were going to make it," Katara said, warmth in her voice. "But you're here, and I'm so glad- and the Duke too! We had no idea if we could get a letter to you; none of us knew where you were."

The Duke shifted a little. "I've just been traveling a lot; I haven't really settled down anywhere. I only happened to be visiting Toph when she got the letter," he explained.

"Wasn't that lucky!" Sokka remarked.

Very lucky, Toph silently agreed. She'd be rather lost without him; she wouldn't have been able to get around off of the boat at all if he hadn't come. She couldn't ask Katara or Aang or Sokka, or anyone really to be her personal chauffer; they all had things to attend to, other people to care about.

But the Duke was here with her, and she was very grateful for it.

* * *

Apparently it was a big stupid tradition with weddings to separate all the men from all the women the night before, which meant that Toph was staying in one igloo with Katara, Suki, Mai and Ty Lee. Whatever was happening in the other igloo that Sokka, Zuko, the Duke and Aang were in _had_ to be much more interesting than the idle chatter in this one.

They'd all caught up. Mai and Zuko were not engaged, and things were going well enough in the Fire Nation. Sokka and Suki were trying to start a family, and Ty Lee was having a blast being part of the Kiyoshi warriors. But now the talk had moved on to weddings and marriages, and frankly, Toph was sick of it all; she'd heard enough about the importance of getting married back home.

But, as much of a bitch Toph could be to Katara, she wasn't going to do it now, not the day before the wedding. She may like to give up all the manners she'd learned at home, but now was not the time to completely and totally disregard all of them.

"Are you excited about getting married Katara?" Ty Lee asked. Toph still wasn't sure how she felt about Ty Lee. It was clear there wasn't a bad bone in her body (despite the knowledge that she'd fought against Team Avatar ages ago), but she was just…overly perky. "You and Aang have been together for a long time!"

"I am," Katara said. "But I just want it to happen, I don't want to have to wait until tomorrow. I'm ready, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean," Suki said. "I'd been ready for a long time before Sokka proposed. I was beginning to think I'd have to propose to him."

They all laughed, except for Mai and Toph; Toph only chuckled appropriately, not really seeing the humor in that.

Ty Lee turned her attention to Mai. "What about you, Mai?" she asked. "Are you expecting a proposal soon, too? You and Zuko have been together longer than Aang and Katara."

"No," was Mai's answer.

"Really?" Ty Lee sounded surprised. "What's taking him so long?"

"I don't know," Mai said, her voice still flat and her answer simple. "And I don't really care."

The room fell silent, save for the crackling fire in the center of the igloo. Toph was starting to think she might really get along with Mai, after that answer.

"You don't care?" Suki asked curiously; it was clear she was a little confused by Mai's response.

"How can you not care?" Ty Lee insisted. "A proposal is the ultimate act of love!"

"No, it isn't," Mai said, and then let out a heavy sigh. "I love Zuko, and Zuko loves me. He doesn't have to formally ask me to spend the rest of my life with him for me to know that."

Yep; Toph definitely liked Mai a lot. She'd have to figure out how to spend more time with her, instead of with the lovey-dovey trio over here. "I can respect that," she said.

Unfortunately, it seemed that by speaking up, it had reminded Ty Lee that there was another person to quiz on their love life. "Well, what about you?" she asked. "Do you have a boyfriend? You and Duke seem awfully close…."

"_The_ Duke." Toph didn't feel like answering the other questions, but she did feel it was necessary to correct her on his name.

"I'm sorry?"

"He goes by 'the Duke', Ty Lee," Katara said gently. "Not 'Duke.'"

"Why?"

"I don't know," Katara said. "All the Freedom Fighters adopted nicknames though; I can't imagine Pipsqueak's real name is actually Pipsqueak."

Ty Lee laughed. "So what's his real name?" she asked.

"I don't know," Katara responded patiently. "I've never asked him, and I don't really want to. I think it ties to bad memories."

Well, that would make sense, now that Toph thought about it. She'd never really thought of why he'd refuse to be called Sheng Li, other than 'the Duke' sounded so much cooler. But with what Katara said, with what Toph knew about the Duke's weirdness with home…. Katara could be onto something there.

But, she'd think about that later; for now she'd bask in the warmth that came from knowing that the Duke only let her in on knowing his real name.

"Well," Suki said, "no matter what he's called…. Are you together?"

Damn. Toph had been certain that she'd dodged that bullet.

"No," she said simply.

"Are you sure?" Ty Lee said, a slight teasing tone to her voice. "I saw you holding his hand when you walked into the village."

"I saw that too!" Katara said, suddenly very interested in this. "I didn't think about it though!"

Toph scoffed. "He's helping me get around here," she said, annoyance in her voice. "I can't see anything in these boots and with all this snow on this stupid chunk of ice you call home. He's like my seeing eye poodle-monkey."

"…You're sure?" Ty Lee pressed. "All day he was giving you looks."

"Looks? What are you talking about?"

"He kept looking at you and smiling, and he had this pinkish-purple aura the whole time," Ty Lee said, sounding very impressed with herself.

"Like that means anything to me."

"It means he likes you!" Ty Lee nearly squealed, causing Toph to scoff again, and shake her head.

"You're crazy," she said.

Suki spoke next. "You know, I think Ty Lee is right," she said. "I got the feeling from him that something was going on with you two."

"Well, there isn't," Toph said adamantly. "And you're both crazy for thinking so."

She could tell from the silence that they weren't convinced. And, strangely enough, neither was Toph anymore…..

* * *

In another igloo, not to far away, a somewhat similar conversation was being held. All the boys were sitting lazily around the fire; well, Zuko and Aang were sitting. Sokka was lying on his back on a pelt, as was the Duke. But, while Sokka was lying lazily, the Duke was rather uncomfortable.

There was a roof over his head. A frozen roof with a hole in the center for ventilation, but a roof nonetheless. It had been a long time since he'd last spent the night not out in the elements (except when on a ship, of course).

But, this was different; out in the elements here meant possibly freezing to death, and offending Sokka and Aang. So he'd spend the night indoors for once.

"I think I'm going to propose to Mai soon," Zuko said, ending the current conversation on life in the south pole.

"Really?" Sokka said, leaning forward a bit. "It's about time, man; you and Mai have been together for ages. I'm surprised she's stuck with you this long." He snickered at his own joke.

Zuko sort of smiled. "Things are finally settled down back at home," he explained. "The country is back to how it should be, threats against me have pretty much disappeared; it finally seems okay to."

"That's so great!" Aang said supportively. "I'm sure she'll say yes; she wouldn't have stayed with you so long if she didn't love you."

"I know," Zuko said, and his smile grew a bit.

That was nice, the Duke thought. Zuko and Mai were such an odd combination; surly and sour, almost, and one as bland as paper, the other full of extreme emotions. They balanced each other out well. They'd be good together.

"Weddings are so exciting; we're all going to be married!" Aang said, just as chipper as ever. The Duke had always really liked him. If they'd spent more time together, they'd probably be good friends. However, their paths hardly crossed anymore. "Well, except for Toph…."

The Duke didn't miss how Sokka's eyes flickered toward him at the mention of Toph. Awkward.

"Oh!" Aang exclaimed suddenly, causing the Duke to jump. "I built an igloo for Katara and I- all by myself! Do you want to see it?"

"Maybe tomorrow," the Duke said. "It's kind of freezing out without the sun."

Aang looked absolutely crushed, which was probably why Zuko spoke up. "I'll go," he said simply.

"Great!" Aang jumped up, standing much quicker than Zuko did. "Sokka, are you coming?"

"Nah, I've seen it," Sokka said, poking at the fire.

"Okay!" The Duke watched Zuko and Aang leave. He really should have prepared himself for being alone with Sokka, but he wasn't paying attention that much.

"So," Sokka said slowly, his eyes leveling on the Duke, and the Duke was sure he was about to be thoroughly interrogated. "What's going on with you and Toph?"

The question surprised him. "What?"

"As her best friend, and older male figure in her life, I think I deserve to know of any shenanigans you two are up to," Sokka said seriously. "Don't think I didn't notice you holding her hand earlier-"

"There's nothing going on," the Duke said defensively, raising up both hands. "Seriously."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

"Seriously. Nothing at all." He let out a sigh. "Believe me, there is nothing happening." And then, very quietly, he breathed out, "Unfortunately."

Sokka heard it, and seemed to understand. "Toph's her own peculiar breed, the Duke," he said. "But, you'll know it when she's into you. The more she gets to know, and gets comfortable with, and likes someone, the more aggressive she gets." He shook his head.

The Duke nodded along a little, thinking about what Sokka had said. Had Toph been more aggressive? He hadn't noticed.

"Just, be good to her, okay?" Sokka asked. "'Cause not only are you going to have to answer to me, and probably Katara and Aang, but you'll have to answer to _her_. Trust me, you don't want to have to deal with _that._"

The Duke raised an eyebrow. "You think I'd-"

"Hey, I'm just saying," Sokka said, raising his hands up. "She's a good kid. Take care of her."

* * *

Whew! This was another long one! Hope you enjoyed it.

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	8. Aang and Katara's Wedding

Okay, so sleeping in the south pole _sucked_. Toph had dealt with it fine and all…until the fire went out, sometime deep into the night. She had many layers on, and was in a toasty warm sealskin sleeping bag, but without the fire, it seemed that all warmth she had disappeared.

Toph ended up sleeping in her parka and gloves, buried deep within her sleeping bag, and she still was cold. Not freezing, but just cold enough to be miserable.

Everyone awoke early, and Toph sat in the background, alternating between yawning and shivering while Ty Lee and Suki rushed around, to help Katara be ready for the afternoon, when the ceremony was.

"This is boring," Mai commented after about an hour of doing nothing.

"You're telling me," Toph said. "At least you get to watch. I can't do anything!"

There was the tiniest of smiles in Mai's voice. "You might be better off than me then."

That might be so, but that didn't keep Toph from being bored, and kind of hungry. Apparently, no one else seemed to be concerned about eating just yet (due to all the excitement?), but Toph was. She was hungry, and it wasn't as if she could do anything at all.

After about the fifth time of hearing, "How do you like this?" from Suki (they were doing Katara's hair, or something; Toph wasn't sure), Toph had enough, and pulled on her boots. She'd brave walking blindly around the tribe, if it meant she'd find food.

She left the igloo, crawling out until she felt the warm sunshine on her face; then she knew it was safe to stand.

And do what? Which direction was food in? She listened hard, trying to figure out where people were; if a large group was gathered somewhere, the chances where that there'd be food. And if there wasn't, someone would be able to help her find it.

It sounded like there were a few people about thirty feet to her left, so she started off in the direction, walking slowly. This was so…disarming. She wouldn't get used to it, not being able to feel her way around. Snow sucked, and was stupid, and she'd never come back to the south pole ever again. If Katara and Aang wanted to see her, they could damn well come to visit her.

There was the crunching sound of someone running in the snow behind her, and Toph ignored it; it was probably a kid or something, they'd just run right past-

"Hwa!"

Suddenly, she was being pushed down, arms wrapped around her waist; Toph let out a high cry, just before hitting the snow. She was pinned, and couldn't move! And then there was laughter, and she knew _exactly_ who it was.

"The Duke!" she yelled, some anger to her voice, though she only half meant it. "What are you doing? Get off of me!"

The Duke continued to chuckle, even as he rolled off of Toph. "Gotcha," he said, his voice smug.

"Only because I can't see anything," Toph pointed out sourly as she sat up, brushing some snow off her face.

"Hey, this is probably the only time I can ever sneak up on you," the Duke said, and playfully shoved her shoulder. "I have to take advantage of it when I can."

"Like I'll let you!" Toph said, and scooped some snow up, chucking it at the Duke. Or, at least she thought she had.

"Was- was that supposed to hit me?" the Duke asked, laughing again.

"Oh yeah, laugh at the blind girl," Toph said, reaching out for him, so she could punch him quite accurately. But instead of her hand bumping into his shoulder, or head, or something, it was his hand that found hers; she could tell, even though the mittens.

This was the second time this had happened since they'd arrived. Maybe there was some weight to what Ty Lee and Katara and Suki had said….

"Would you rather me treat you like you're made of glass?" the Duke asked, a small smile to his voice, and his fingers wrapped around hers.

"_Hell_ no," Toph said. And, because this was beginning to get a little too heartfelt, she once more chucked snow at him, and this time, she hit her target.

* * *

The ceremony took place mid-afternoon, while the sun was still out and it was relatively warm. They were outside, with the whole tribe present. It was fitting, after all; it was the Avatar and the tribe leader's daughter who were being wed. The Duke only found it funny that there weren't more people at the wedding, considering.

But a huge ceremony wasn't exactly something that Katara or Aang would want. They'd want something small, and private, and this was as close as they'd get to that. The Duke was just honored that he'd been invited at all.

He stood among his friends during the ceremony, beside Toph; her hand never left his elbow. He would have preferred to hold her hand, but Toph always went for his elbow. It was a little disheartening, but then again; whenever the Duke did manage to get a hold of her hand, she didn't yank hers away.

Small victory, he had to say. A step in the right direction, even.

Katara's grandmother was administering the ceremony, and the Duke had to admit, it was nice. It was very modest, with the two attesting to their love for each other, and a kiss at the end.

And so many tears, from the both of them.

The crowd cheered as Aang and Katara kissed, Aang lifting Katara up slightly; it was very endearing. Toph was a little late to start celebrating, and instead yanked hard on the Duke's elbow.

"What just happened?" she asked as he bent down to listen.

"They kissed," the Duke explained. "They're married."

"Oh." And then, the Duke jumped a little as Toph roared, "Way to go, Twinkle-toes!"

* * *

Once again, Toph ended up wandering off during the celebrations. The Duke hadn't noticed at first; he had been separated from Toph by Sokka, who wanted him to be a part of some manly conversation or another with other men from the tribe. He'd left Toph with Ty Lee and Mai, near the large bonfire.

After about fifteen minutes of conversing, the Duke looked back to the fire, and was surprised to see that Ty Lee and Mai were still there, but Toph was not. Excusing himself from the group, he walked over to Ty Lee and Mai.

"Hello!" Ty Lee said, as perky as ever as he reached them.

"Hey," the Duke said. "Do you know where Toph is?"

"She headed over that way a few minutes ago," Mai said dryly, pointing away from the bonfire; she was clearly ignoring Ty Lee. The girl looked like she was ready to explode the second he asked about Toph. "Said she needed fresh air, or something."

"I think the smoke from the fire was getting to her," Ty Lee added in.

"Thanks," the Duke said, nodding to the two of them, before quickly walking in the direction that Mai had pointed.

He couldn't help but be a little worried. Toph was not a weakling by any means- at least, not in her natural habitat. This was far from her natural habitat. There was no earth here for her to use to see, or bend; he'd been able to sneak up on her (which was fine because it was _him_), which never happened! True, they weren't exactly surrounded by enemies.

But the Duke had a history of losing those he cared about, and it was a very real concern that Toph could have walked to the edge of the ice, and into the freezing water.

"I'm right here, the Duke."

Toph's voice came from his right, and the Duke stopped dead, looking around. It took him a second to find her; she was sitting, leaning against an igloo, in a partial shadow.

"How did you know it was me?" the Duke asked, as he walked over to her, and took a seat.

"I know what you sound like," Toph said simply, turning her head slightly, and it was then that the Duke realized her cheeks were wet.

She'd been crying.

Oh Agni, if she had a crush on Aang too, the Duke was just going to give up now. Sokka he could compete with. But Aang? The _Avatar_? That was a whole different game.

"Why did you come out here?" the Duke asked, choosing to pretend he didn't know she'd been crying.

Toph was quiet for a moment, and then, before she spoke, she took in a ragged breath. "I hate being blind."

That was news to the Duke; he blinked in surprise, staring at her. He'd never thought it had bothered her before.

Thankfully, Toph continued before he had the chance to say anything. "I don't hate it. Not really," she said, wiping her cheeks. "I've never known what it's like to see, so I can't say I know I'm missing anything. And I know being blind helped me to become the best earth bender in the world, and I would never take sight over that…."

She took another pause, wiping her cheeks again. "I just wanted to see Twinkle-Toes and Sweetness get married. With my feet, at least. I didn't really think about how I'd have to wear boots and there'd be no earth, and how my feet can't see here. I couldn't feel how happy they were, couldn't feel what they were doing. I- I know I was there, but I missed _everything_."

The Duke sat quietly for a moment, taking in everything she'd said. He couldn't blame her for being upset over this; he'd never really thought about it, that she wouldn't have taken in much.

Then he leaned in closer to Toph, and spoke quietly. "Aang and Katara stood next to each other, and held each other's hand." As he spoke, he took Toph's hand in one of his own, and then placed his other hand over Toph's. "Aang held her hand Katara's hand like this; it sometimes looked like he was gripping it too hard, but he'd quickly lessen his hold."

And he continued on, painting the picture for her, of what had happened, as best he could remember.

* * *

The party finally died down, hours after the sun had set. The sleeping arrangements were much different now; Sokka and Suki had retired to their own igloo, and of course Katara and Aang would be spending the night together. Zuko and Mai had their own, and the Duke, Toph and Ty Lee were supposed to be sharing one as well.

Supposed to, being key. Ty Lee had nearly begged Mai to let her spend the night with her, and Mai had agreed.

Which gave Toph and the Duke their very own igloo. Toph didn't mind; she'd spent so much time with the Duke, and it would be nice to have some peace and quiet without Ty Lee's perky chatter.

Toph was already wrapped up in her sleeping bag, prepared for another cold night. "You'd better keep that fire going, the Duke," she said, hearing him stoke the small fire. "I don't feel like being frozen tonight."

He chuckled a little, which caused her to scowl; did he really think she was joking? "I'll do my best, but I can't do much while I sleep, you know."

Toph groaned a little, and curled into a tighter ball under her blanket.

There was some silence between them, for several minutes. She heard the Duke rummaging around, and then the unmistakable sound of him slipping into a sleeping bag of his own.

"The Duke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For earlier. You know, when you described everything about the wedding." Toph wasn't really good at thanks, even now. "It really, you know…. It meant a lot to me."

"No problem," the Duke said, and she could tell he was smiling. "It's not like I was describing Zuko's wedding, or something. His will be way over the top, him being Fire Lord and all."

"If he gets married," Toph corrected him. The way Mai had been talking, it didn't seem like Zuko ever would.

"He's definitely getting married," The Duke said. "At least, if Mai says yes."

"Wait." Toph sat up straight. "He's gonna propose?"

There was silence for a moment, and Toph scowled. "You know, if you're nodding or shaking your head, I can't tell."

"Oh, sorry," was the Duke's quick reply, and Toph shook her head; he had been nodding or shaking his head. "Yeah, he's going to propose. He told us all last night; said the timing was right or something."

"Man, everyone is married or getting married," Toph said, and slumped back down against her pillow. "I mean, I am loving not being married, and tied down, and all that. Marriage is like a prison sentence."

The Duke laughed. "That bad, huh?"

"Man, you don't know the half of it," Toph said. She rolled onto her back. "I don't want to get married. I don't want to be stuck at home until I finally give in and get married. I want to travel and earth bend, and live how I want to."

There was the briefest moment of silence, before the Duke said, "Why don't you travel with me? Become a nomad, like me?"

"My parents would disown me." She sighed heavily. "Years ago, I wouldn't have cared- well, I would have pretended not to care, at least. But I do care. I want to be able to see them."

"Maybe you'll be able to convince them?"

Toph snorted. "Not likely. You don't know my parents. They're stubborn."

"At least I know where you got it from, then."

"I'm an earth bender; of course I'm stubborn."

* * *

Toph woke up, shivering, and cursed under her breath. The fire had gone out; it had to have. There was a distinct lack of warmth coming from the direction the fire had been in. Toph grumbled, and instinctively buried herself under the blanket again.

It didn't help.

Okay, she had two choices. Stay in bed, miserable and freezing, or seek heat elsewhere. It took only a moment or two of consideration before she made up her mind. Toph shoved the blanket down and crawled out of the sleeping bag, shivering at the sudden burst of cold air. She had a general idea of where the Duke was sleeping in relationship to her bed, and walked carefully over.

Even so, she still accidentally tripped over him.

The Duke grunted and shifted slightly, rolling over even as Toph was half sprawled over him. "Huh- Toph?"

Toph rolled around, trying to figure out how to worm her way into the Duke's sleeping bag. "Shove over," she said, finally able to pull the blanket down. "I'm freezing."

"Hinh- oh, okay. Yeah, sure." The Duke moved over, and then in a move that surprised her, pulled her down in beside him. Toph wouldn't said something snappy, but she was too grateful for the warmth to complain.

"This better?" the Duke asked sleepily, keeping one arm draped around her.

Toph burrowed in closer to the Duke. "Yeah; you're really warm," she said, tempted to press her face against his chest to warm up her nose. She held back though; she did have some shame, and what with all the…things happening with them, she felt that could be too forward, or misinterpreted, or something.

Toph wasn't really sure what she was thinking.

But, whatever she was trying to figure out, the Duke had other thoughts; with his arm that was around her, he pulled her in closer, much to her surprise, and nestled his nose against the top of her head.

"…You smell nice," the Duke murmured, causing Toph to laugh shortly and softly.

"You're kidding me, right?" she said. Katara had often complained about Toph's lack of hygiene.

"Mm-hmm. Kind of earthy, but not."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Earthy but not? Are you saying that just because I'm an earth bender?"

The Duke chuckled lightly. "Maybe," he said, and then, in a surprising motion, pressed his lips to her forehead in a kiss.

Toph froze for a split second, then tilted her head up, as though to look at him. He'd kissed her, a move she hadn't expected him to make; well, maybe a little, but not so soon! But it wasn't a real kiss, just a light peck to her forehead. But more could come, this she was sure of, and Toph was equally certain that she wasn't going to just take it passively.

When did she ever do things passively, after all?

And so, before he was able to, Toph kissed the Duke.

And this time, the Duke was surprised.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this; I particularly enjoyed writing this chapter.

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	9. To Kiyoshi Island

The Duke wasn't quite sure if this was a dream or not. It had certainly felt real enough when Toph had tripped over him, and he was pretty damn sure that dream-Toph couldn't actually feel was warm and wonderful next to him like this. But she had kissed him. _Him_. He hadn't been the first to make a move, unless sleepily kissing the top of her head counted.

That was what had made this seem most dream-like.

But there was no way this could be a dream; she was warm in his arms and pressed against so perfectly, and the kiss-

It was amazing. Quick, but firm, and so wholly like Toph to kiss this way; she did it like she did everything; quickly and with some force behind it, and yet so effortlessly. And though that kiss was quick, the second, third and beyond were not so chaste.

And it was pretty much all the Duke had been dreaming about for months.

When the kisses ended and they finally broke away, the Duke stared at Toph, and was immediately overcome with the urge to swoop in and capture those lips in his once again. Her cheeks were pinker, her lips fuller, almost swollen, and she had the most divine expression he'd ever seen; he started to move in, to kiss her once more, but she pushed a hand out against his chest, effectively stopping him.

The Duke froze. Crap; was she having second thoughts? Had he done something wrong? And if he had, why was she feeling around his chest?

Her hand would pause on one part of his chest for a moment, then shift over, closer to his heart, and then repeat the process. Glancing back at her, he saw her frowning a little, and the next thing he knew, she was pulling the low collar of his tunic down even further, shoving it to the side, and suddenly, her hand was touching his bare skin.

"Toph-"

"Shh."

Her hand was placed directly over his heart now, and they both lay very still for a moment; every now and then, Toph would push her hand more intently against him, before, with a loud sigh, she pulled her hand back. She slumped closer to him, her forehead lightly touching one of his shoulders.

"Toph?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that all about?"

There was another sigh, but softer this time. "I wanted to feel what you're feeling, to _know_ what you're feeling. It didn't work."

The Duke's eyes widened in surprise a little, and then leaned down to let his lips brush over the top of her head.

"You can't tell?"

This time, Toph let out a small growl of frustration. "_No_," she said, clearly a little ticked. "I've complained about the lack of earth here enough for you to get why."

The Duke couldn't help but to smile a little at that. That hadn't been what he'd meant at all; he knew without earth, Toph couldn't read people the way she normally could. But, he'd been thinking more along the lines of reading him by his actions, not…through however that bending nonsense worked.

"Do you want me to explain it all to you?" the Duke asked, shifting so that his head gently rested against hers.

"Yes."

The Duke laughed lightly, but remained quiet. So, what was he supposed to do now? They'd just kissed, and there was a sort of slight awkwardness now. But maybe only he felt it. Maybe Toph didn't feel awkward; she didn't seem to feel awkward ever. His only comfort was that Toph probably didn't regret it because, well, she'd kissed him, and she wasn't showing any sign of being angry about it.

"Well?"

The Duke lifted his head up, to look at Toph. "What?"

"Aren't you going to tell me?"

It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about, and then he smirked. "No. You get to be as in the dark as the rest of us this time."

She let out a noise of frustration, which greatly amused the Duke. "If I wasn't so cold, I'd go back to my sleeping bag," she said stubbornly.

"Why don't you tell me what you're feeling?" the Duke asked. "It's only fair; I'll tell you if you tell me."

Toph scoffed. "I don't talk about feelings all willy-nilly, the Duke."

"I know," the Duke said, and rolled onto his side. He looked at her, and then brushed her bangs aside, so he could see her eyes. "But maybe we should."

Toph was quiet a moment, and then a smile spread across her face, which meant only one thing: she had an idea, and the Duke didn't know how to prepare himself for whatever she was thinking of.

"Actions speak louder than words, you know," she said, now grinning almost devilishly. And, before the Duke had time to process the sentence, she was moving in closer, her hand having found his cheek.

And the Duke decided, two seconds into the kiss, that Toph was probably right.

* * *

Toph had been confused initially upon waking up, next to the Duke. But, within seconds, it all came rushing back.

Right. She'd gone to share his sleeping bag, and it had evolved into kissing and such, and probably almost a love confession from the Duke. Yeah; that was exactly what had happened. And it was a good thing she'd stopped that confession from coming out last night; Toph was not prepared for, nor did she want, some sort of love confession from anyone.

She could have fun with the Duke, in more ways than one, it seemed. And yes, there was some sort of light attraction to him. But having a talk about feelings? Discussing who loved who?

It was just the start of a terrible spiral Toph was trying hard to avoid. Discussing feelings and attraction led to talking about love, and that led to marriage and settling down.

Granted, Toph would much prefer to marry the Duke than some random guy who decided he wanted her, but Toph would also choose Iroh over them, or dirt.

But she didn't want to think about that. For once, she woke up warm and comfortable and happy, her head on the Duke's chest, just over his heart so she could faintly hear it beating, with his arm around her and his hand resting on her shoulder. And since she was feeling warm for the first time since arriving at the south pole, she had no intention of moving.

"Hey, you awake?"

It was the Duke who had spoken, softly, and Toph nodded. "Yeah." She stretched a little, mostly just arching her back like a cat would, and flexed her toes, before settling back against the Duke again. He rubbed her shoulder lightly, and Toph let out a content sigh.

This was just what she wanted; to be warm and comfortable, and she was really enjoying being so close to the Duke.

"I hope you're not planning on getting up any time soon," Toph said. "'Cause you're keeping me warm right now."

The Duke chuckled a little, and then replied, "Well, I was starting to feel a little hungry-"

"Fifteen more minutes," Toph said quickly, not wanting to be denied this cozy snuggling so quickly.

"You want me to just lay here for fifteen minutes?"

"You got it, the Duke."

* * *

It was considerably longer than fifteen minutes before they emerged from the igloo; it wasn't like they'd just laid there, after all. Toph made sure to distract the Duke any time he seemed to want to talk about, well, it. Later, maybe. But not now.

There were a lot of different voices here and there, and the Duke, with his hand in hers, guided her toward a group; Toph could hear Hakoda's voice. She decided she liked him; Toph was always very unsure about parents, considering hers were so smothering. But Hakoda was nice, and trusted his kids to do everything they could, and more; she couldn't help but to respect that.

"Oh, good morning Toph, good morning the Duke," Hakoda said as they reached the group, and Toph was certain she'd heard Zuko and Suki as well.

"Good morning," the Duke said, as Toph also greeted the chief of the Southern Water Tribe. "How are you?"

"Fine, fine; it's a shame you two got up so late," Hakoda said. "You just missed Aang and Katara."

"Missed them?" Toph repeated. "What do you mean by 'missed them'?"

"They just left, maybe ten minutes ago." To say Toph was surprised by this was an understatement; she hadn't even heard that they'd be just up and leaving. "They're going to the Southern Air Temple."

"Man, Twinkle-Toes doesn't tell me anything anymore," Toph huffed, and she would've crossed her arms if she hadn't been holding the Duke's hand.

Hakoda laughed, and Toph jumped when she felt him muss her hair. "He's been very preoccupied lately," he said fondly, and then changed his tone completely, to one of business. "But we were just discussing how everyone is getting home. Another ship won't be back for another week or so, to get you two back to the Earth Kingdom-"

"A _week_?" Toph cried out, unable to contain herself. "Look, I know you love it here and all, but I can't stay a whole week here."

"You might not have to," Suki interrupted gently. "Sokka and I are leaving for Kiyoshi Island this afternoon. It will only take a few days to reach it, and you should be able to get a ship to take you back home from there. It will be a longer journey, but I know you aren't a fan of the cold here, Toph."

"Damn straight," Toph said with a nod.

"What will you do, Zuko?" the Duke asked.

"Mai and I are going to Kiyoshi as well," Zuko said, sounding a little stiff. "An airship will pick us up there."

Toph tilted her head in confusion. "Why not just have them come here? You are Fire Lord after all."

"Hakoda feels that it's too soon for Fire Nation colors to come here," Zuko said carefully, "and I would do nothing to impose on how welcoming he and his tribe have been to me."

Toph blinked. That had been the first time she'd ever heard anything so…diplomatic come from Zuko. She was much more used to the hot-headed, impulsive guy she'd fought alongside; this had to be how Zuko sounded and acted when it came to making Fire Lordly decisions.

She much preferred sulking, angry Zuko. But hey; that wouldn't make for a great Fire Lord, now would it?

Had Toph not been blind, she would have seen Hakoda give Zuko a smile and a nod, before continuing back to the conversation. "So, should room be made on board for you two?"

"Yes!"

* * *

Toph could not be happier to be on the ship. It was an old Fire Nation ship (apparently stripped of its emblems, not that Toph really understood what it had looked like), one of several that had been given to the various tribes of the south pole as a peace offering from the Fire Nation. As such, it was metal, and for that reason alone, she was absolutely thrilled.

She and the Duke were given their own room, but they didn't stay there for long. Toph...wasn't sure how to actually spend time alone with the Duke anymore. The Duke seemed to want her- _really _did- but she just wasn't certain she wanted him the same way.

Maybe this was why she'd never gotten into a relationship before- too many complicated, stupid feelings were involved. That, and she'd never really been super interested in anyone.

Except Sokka. But that was different. It had been apparent all along that she'd never had a chance with him. He had Suki, and was never single, and would have probably never ever seen her as anything more than a close friend, or a sister-like figure.

Whatever.

But this was different, for so many, many reasons. Something had happened and now she actually had to deal with it, and something told her that it couldn't be taken care of by barreling through it like she always did. This was a stupid, soft, delicate nature. Damn it.

And that was how Toph found herself in Mai and Zuko's room, avoiding being alone with the Duke. Zuko was off with Sokka, and the Duke was probably with them. She was laying on the floor, her feet and palms pressed against the metal boards, and absolutely loving the vibrations she could feel.

"Why are you here?"

Ah, Mai. Toph could really appreciate her bluntness; no one else got straight to the point.

"I'm avoiding the Duke." Toph didn't beat around the bush much either.

"What for?" Mai sounded incredibly bored, but Toph had gotten used to that.

And now, Toph hesitated, only because she didn't know how she felt about sharing it yet. But then again, why the hell not? "I kissed him last night."

There was the slightest of smiles in her voice. "Ty Lee will be happy to hear that."

"Huh? Why?"

"She insisted upon spending the night with Zuko and I last night so that you two could have some...bonding time."

"...You're kidding."

"Not at all," Mai said mildly. "So why are you avoiding him if you were the one to kiss him?"

"Because he probably wants something serious," Toph said, lightly drumming her fingers on the metal floor. "I don't care about a serious...relationship...thing. I want _fun._"

"So tell him that."

"Just tell him? I don't have to do the stupid couple-relationship floaty bullshit?"

Mai laughed- the first time Toph ever heard her laugh. "I've never done it. Are you basing all your relationship knowledge around Sokka and Suki's?"

"Maybe."

"Just tell the Duke what you want. It's early enough on. Besides, you're probably worried about nothing. I've seen the way he looks at you; he'll follow you around like a puppy forever."

Toph snorted, as if she were amused. But, in all honesty, she wasn't really sure how she felt about the Duke being that devoted.

* * *

Hooray for another chapter up! Finally, has let me post this, which it absolutely was being a douche about.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	10. The Talk

It was night, and it was quiet. Most of the passengers had gone below deck for the night, save for Toph. She was enjoying the fresh air, as she leaned against the rail, even if it was obnoxiously cold out still. And, she knew she should have retired for the night when Mai, Suki and Ty Lee had, for the three of them had been gathered, talking, at the rail; it would be difficult to navigate her way back to the stairs that led below deck, but she could do it.

She was Toph; she could do anything.

Except have that damn talk with the Duke.

She'd had the opportunity several times that day, and had quickly found reason to not be alone with him. She was absolutely certain that she was giving him mixed signals, but it couldn't be helped; she had the option to just man up and do it, or run, and for some stupid reason, she kept choosing to run.

It wasn't like her. She was an earth bender; they stood strong and faced everything head on. But then again, it wasn't really like her to get close to someone, at least like this.

"Toph?"

It was the Duke. She hadn't heard any footsteps, so he must've just poked his head up from the entrance to the lower deck.

Okay. Here was her chance. No pussying out this time. "Yeah?"

Ah, there were the footsteps; he was coming to her. "What're you doing out here? Enjoying the view?"

"Ha, ha," Toph said sarcastically as the Duke reached her, brushing against her as he took a spot beside her. "Don't tell me you've gotten into the habit of forgetting that I'm blind, too."

"Nah," the Duke said. "I'm just teasing."

There was a small amount of silence between them before the Duke spoke again. "Have you been avoiding me all day, or is it just me?"

"It's not just you," Toph said, and then heaved a heavy sigh, shifting to rest her chin in her hand.

When Toph didn't continue, the Duke pressed on. "Did I do something wrong, then? I mean, I thought I was getting the right signals from you last night-"

"You didn't do anything wrong, the Duke," Toph said, cutting him off. "It's just me, being a stupid…girl, I guess."

"So what's going on?"

Okay. Here it was. She was just going to say it, like Mai suggested. "I just want to have fun, you know? I don't want to be tied down, or get into anything serious, anything that's like marriage." She cringed at the word. "Everyone has been getting married and settled down, and my parents are pushing it, and you probably want to get married some day, but I don't want any of that, okay? I don't want serious. I want fun."

It was a few seconds before the Duke spoke again. "Toph."

"Yeah?"

"I'm fifteen."

"Yeah."

"And I'm a nomad."

"Yeah."

"The last thing I want is to be 'tied down,' and I certainly don't care about marriage," the Duke said, and it sounded like he was grinning. "I want fun, too."

"Well, shit," Toph said, and then promptly punched him hard in the shoulder.

"What was that for?"

"I spent all day worrying I'd crush you or something by telling you that! And for nothing!" She scowled.

"At least you know we're on the same page now."

She considered what he said. "Yeah, I guess." And then, she punched him in the shoulder again. This time, the Duke let out a slight yelp in pain.

"And why did you punch me now?"

"It's how I show affection," Toph said, grinning. "You'd better get used to it, the Duke."

"Why haven't I been punched before then?"

"You never kissed me before!"

The Duke laughed, which kind of surprised her, and then his arm was draped around her shoulders. "You're one weird girl, Toph Bei Fong."

"You got a problem with that?"

"Not at all," the Duke said, a laugh in his voice still.

Toph smiled, and leaned against him a little. Often times, she'd wondered what it would be like, to be in a relationship with someone (were she and the Duke even an item? She wasn't sure what he considered to be 'just having fun', after all), and generally came to the conclusion that it would be just plain awkward. Being so close, and that stupid teasing that Sokka and Suki seemed to be so fond of doing; and it just seemed _annoying_.

But this was just _easy_. It was natural, and just so…normal.

Which was good. She didn't want to have to deal with the irritating playful banter she thought had to go with being part of a couple. Except with her parents, but they were just so damn proper.

"So where to, after Kiyoshi Island?" the Duke asked, interrupting the silence.

Toph raised an eyebrow at the question. "Gaoling, duh," she said. "I've got to go back home."

"Oh, right." The Duke seemed kind of disappointed in the answer she gave him. "But we can travel a bit along the way, right?"

"I suppose." She shrugged a little. "I'm not in that big of a rush to get back. Mom and Dad will probably be throwing more suitors at me." She made a face. "I'd much rather be traveling all over the place with you."

She felt Duke's lips brush over her forehead in a very brief kiss. "So do it."

"Not that simple, the Duke."

The Duke didn't push it, which Toph was happy about.

* * *

"You two are just _so_ cute together!"

The high pitched squeal came from Ty Lee, who had followed Suki into Toph and the Duke's room, to see if they wanted any breakfast. Toph had woken up, earlier in the morning, and had been shivering; of course, the only way to fix this was to crawl into bed with the Duke, and snuggle with him to get warm.

When Ty Lee and Suki had come in (after knocking, of course, and waiting for Toph to yell at them to come in already), Toph and the Duke were no longer laying in bed, but sitting together, a blanket wrapped around them. His arm was around her, and her head was resting against his shoulder. They'd been thumb wrestling, something Toph hadn't ever played, and the Duke had taught her; she hadn't quite gotten the hang of it, but she was fiercely enjoying it thus far.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are we interrupting….?" Suki said, and Toph shook her head.

"Nah, we're just thumb wrestling." Toph lifted her hand, which was firmly gripped in the Duke's, to show her.

"I'm winning," the Duke said proudly, causing Toph to punch him with her free hand; she wasn't about to let go and declare this game over. With him distracted, she then tried to force his thumb down, but the Duke's hands were freakishly strong, or something.

"Oh, um, okay," Suki said; it was clear from her tone of voice that she didn't know how to go on from this point.

"Are you two coming to breakfast?" Ty Lee asked, chipper as ever. "Or do you need more time alone? Oh, you two are just _so cute_ together! I hoped this would happen!"

Toph was about to respond sarcastically, but then there was the unmistakable sound of feet pounding across the metal floorboards, coming their way, and Toph instead braced herself for the overbearing hug that was surely coming. And just as she'd predicted, Ty Lee practically landed on her and the Duke, one arm slung around her shoulder, and the other surely around the Duke's; both let out a small 'oof!' in response and let go of each other's hands.

"Uh, thanks?" Toph said, not really sure what else to say, as Ty Lee squeezed her and the Duke tighter. Near the door, she could hear Suki laughing lightly.

"So, you said something about breakfast?" the Duke asked as Ty Lee got off of them.

That seemed to remind Suki as to why they'd come. "Right! Breakfast. Since you two were taking a while to get up, Sokka had asked me to see if you two were coming to eat, or if we should start to clean up."

"Um…." There was a pause from the Duke, and Toph was generally confused as to why, so she filled in the blank.

"Yeah, I'm starved."

* * *

After getting dressed (Toph only wearing the thinnest socks on her feet she could find without her toes feeling frozen), Toph and the Duke headed down to the mess cabin, to eat. However, they'd hardly walked into the room when Sokka appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey Toph! Mind if we talk?"

"Can it wait until after I eat?" Toph said, stepping around Sokka in order to get to the meal that awaited her. "I'm really hungry."

If it weren't for the socks she was wearing, Toph wouldn't have been so surprised about Sokka suddenly putting his arm around her and steering her back out of the room.

"It'll take two minutes, promise," Sokka said. "We'll be right back, the Duke."

"Hey, I didn't agree to go with you!" Toph said, starting to duck to get out of Sokka's reach; unfortunately, his reflexes had gotten better or something, because he caught her.

"This is important," he said quietly, making her shut up, stop fighting against him and just sigh in response.

"Fine, but it better be quick."

Sokka steered Toph around the corner and then stopped, letting go of her. She leaned against the wall, folding her arms over her chest. "What's this about, Sokka?" she asked.

"The Duke."

"What about him?"

"Ty Lee was going off earlier about how you and him are…you know, and I would just like to know if this is true."

Toph let out a frustrated groan. "_This_ is what is keeping me from eating right now?"

"So you aren't?"

"No," Toph said with a slight shake of her head. "We are. Sort of. I don't know."

Sokka cocked his head ever so slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," Toph repeated. "We're…involved." It was the best way she knew to explain it, not really knowing how to define what she and the Duke were.

"Involved?" She could practically hear him raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," she snapped, her patience wearing thin due to hunger. "What's with the third degree?"

"Hey, I'm just looking out for your well-being," Sokka said defensively, and then paused before speaking again. "He hasn't…forced you to do anything, has he?"

"Sokka!"

"I'm just asking!"

"How could you think that of the Duke! Or that I'd let him do- things like that!" Toph stomped her foot, putting a sizable dent in the metal floor.

"Calm down!" Sokka reached out, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Toph, look-"

"_I can't_."

Sokka sighed. Okay, so maybe Toph acknowledged that he wasn't actually telling her to _look_, to _see_ with her eyes, but she was kind of irritated right now.

"Toph, I'm sorry," Sokka said sincerely. "I just want to look out for you; you don't have a big, older brother, after all. I've got to fill those boots." He let go of her shoulders. "And, I've got to say, I'm a little worried, since he lied to me."

"When?" Toph couldn't imagine the Duke lying _ever_; she'd never caught him lying.

"I asked him a couple nights ago, before the wedding, about you two. He said there was nothing going on, put on a damn good show about it, too." He huffed slightly. "I bought it, but I probably shouldn't have, since you guys were _never_ apart-"

"He wasn't lying," Toph said, cutting him off. "Nothing happened until _after_ the wedding."

"After?"

"Yeah, after. The night before we left the South Pole."

"So what on earth was going on with you guys, always holding hands and stuff?" Sokka cried out, clearly confused.

Toph shrugged. "I don't know. Can I go eat now?"

Sokka seemed to consider the question. "Yeah, but send the Duke out. I need to have the official talk with him."

Toph tilted her head slightly. "What talk?"

"Oh, you know, the whole, 'hurt her and I'll hurt you' talk. I started to have it with him the other night, but I cut it short. Gotta do the whole sh'peal now."

Toph considered it, and then nodded, "Sure, whatever."

* * *

When Toph had returned to the mess cabin, the Duke was already scarfing down his breakfast. Like Toph, he'd been rather hungry, and he wasn't going to just sit and do nothing while he waited for her to get done talking to Sokka about…whatever; he was damn well going to eat.

He was in a very good mood. Before the small talk with Toph last night, he'd been kind of worried he'd done something wrong, that he'd offended her somehow, or something. But after they'd cleared up her issues, he felt better. It was kind of awesome how they both wanted the same thing.

However, when Toph returned, she kicked him out of the mess cabin so he could talk to Sokka, his optimistic mood was kind of…extinguished. He hadn't really known what to expect, but it certainly hadn't been Sokka giving him the third degree.

It was weird. He'd never really found Sokka to be intimidating before. When he first met him, back when the Freedom Fighters were still together, Sokka was just that plucky guy who didn't trust Jet for some reason. And then, in preparing for the day of the invasion during the eclipse, Sokka was the plucky idea guy who'd knew battle strategies really well. And when they were in the Western Air Temple, he was the plucky funny guy. The Duke had grown to look up to him (though not in the same way he'd ever looked up to Jet), but he'd never known Sokka to be the least bit fearsome…until now.

Now, he was stuck in a dark metal hallway with him, with Sokka in his face, threatening him, he understood how Sokka could be kind of scary. Really scary, actually. It didn't matter that the Duke was several inches taller than Sokka, or that the Duke knew that Sokka was actually a really nice guy; Sokka was doing a damn good job at intimidating him.

"Got it?" Sokka said, staring fiercely at the Duke, after finishing his (rather long) speech on how he'd see to it that the Duke was in his own personal hell if he ever broke Toph's heart- or touched her in a way Sokka didn't deem 'appropriate,' or hurt her physically.

The Duke nodded, not really sure what else to do. "Got it," he confirmed.

And instantly, Sokka's whole demeanor changed. "Good," he said with a smile, and clapped the Duke on the shoulder. "Have you eaten yet? Man, I'd be starving if I were you!" He laughed a bit. "I'm gonna go find my dad, see how much longer left before we arrive at Kiyoshi; enjoy your breakfast!"

And just like that, he left the Duke standing alone in the hallway, not certain at all how to take all that had happened.

* * *

Whew! Another chapter out; I'm gonna be straight up guys, and let you know I don't have as much time to write anymore. There's a lot going on with work, and a new puppy in the house, and getting back into school and all that jazz. Updates may be less frequent, but I promise they'll come.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And, for those of you waiting for it, Smellerbee and Longshot should show up soon.

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	11. To Gaoling Again

They reached Kiyoshi Island late at night. The Duke was awake and on deck when the island just barely came into view in the dark night; he'd awoken earlier, and had been unable to fall back asleep. Thinking that fresh air would do him good, he headed to the top deck, surprised to find that he wasn't the only one up there. Hakoda was, standing at the front, along with Sokka.

The Duke was still kind of nervous around Sokka. After that threatening conversation he had with him, the Duke was a little uncertain about where he stood with him. He'd thought they were totally cool and on the same level, but after that, the Duke wasn't so sure.

But, rather than stand all awkwardly by himself, the Duke walked up to them, saying, "I thought I'd be the only one awake."

Hakoda and his son turned to look at the Duke, and Hakoda shook his head. It was Sokka that answered, though. "We're almost to Kiyoshi Island," he explained.

"Really?" The Duke was standing alongside them, next to Hakoda.

Hakoda pointed straight ahead. "That's Kiyoshi Island," he said.

It took a moment for the Duke's eyes to be able to focus on the dark mass looming up ahead. "Oh wow! Toph is going to be excited." He smiled, imagining her out on the sand. She'd been rather surly about the lack of earth, even if she was in a metal ship.

"We aren't going to unload tonight," Sokka said. "It'd be kind of rude, to come barging in, in the middle of the night. Everyone will get off in the morning."

"Oh." Well, that didn't sound so much like fun anymore. The Duke was rather eager to see Toph so happy to be back with her element.

"What are you doing up, the Duke?" Hakoda asked.

"Couldn't sleep," the Duke said with a shrug. "Thought I'd get some air."

"Speaking of sleep," Sokka said with a yawn, stretching his arms up over his head, "I'm going back to bed."

"Goodnight Sokka," Hakoda said, nodding to him, and the Duke did the same.

For a few moments, there was only silence and the sound of the waves as the Duke stood with Hakoda. But it was a good silence, a comfortable one. The Duke didn't feel like he had to talk, to ease any tension, for there wasn't any. It was nice. He rarely felt that way about adults and parents.

"You know, we've hardly talked at all in the past couple of days," Hakoda finally said, breaking the silence. "I think the last time I saw you was at Sokka's wedding. What have you been up to?"

The Duke shrugged, leaning against the rail of the ship. "Traveling, mostly," he said. "I've kind of turned into a nomad."

Hakoda nodded. "What about your friend, Pipsqueak, is it? He hasn't been traveling with you, has he?"

"No," the Duke said, with a slight shake of his head. "He settled down. Got himself a girlfriend. I think they're living near Haru now."

"So you've been traveling alone?"

There was some light concern in Hakoda's voice, and it made the Duke a little uncomfortable. He didn't really know what to do about it; this was why he often tried to avoid parents.

"Yeah," the Duke said, and then quickly added, "It's not so bad, really. I get to go where I want, when I want. Nothing keeps me tied down anywhere."

"I see." Hakoda was quiet for a moment, and the Duke was almost certain the conversation was over. But, he really should have known better. "That sounds like a rather lonely way to live."

Again, the Duke shrugged. "Sometimes. But I've got friends in a lot of places. I visit Haru sometimes, or Pipsqueak, or Toph a lot."

"Will you be settling down in Gaoling once you and Toph return there? I understand she's still living with her parents."

This was something the Duke tried not to think about much. He knew there would be some sort of an issue once they returned to Gaoling. He'd have to leave eventually. The longest he could force himself to stay would be three weeks, maybe four, tops. After that, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

The last time he'd left, she'd been so angry, and they hadn't even been a couple at that point. But now, they kinda-sorta were, and the Duke had a sinking feeling in his stomach, that she'd call it off it he tried to leave.

He'd been trying to convince her to travel with him, without being too pushy about it. But she was being stubborn, and wanting to stay on good terms with her parents. He couldn't really blame her; if he stayed in one place for too long, he'd develop ties like that with others, and constantly be fearful of losing them.

Like he was beginning to get with Toph.

"No," the Duke said with a sigh, slumping forward. "I'm just…going to cross that bridge when I get to it."

Hakoda was quiet again, and this time, the Duke knew that the conversation wasn't going to be over. Hakoda was probably going to have some words of wisdom for him, or something.

"The Duke," Hakoda started, and the Duke knew a small speech was coming. "I worry that this may not be the best decision for you. I understand that you have been on your own for most of your life, and haven't had much guidance, so I hope you will consider what I have to say. I do not know how strong your feelings for Toph are-"

"Strong," the Duke said, surprising even himself. "They're, uh, strong."

Hakoda nodded. "And I wish you and Toph luck. Your spirits compliment each other. However, I don't know how long Toph will be happy to see you walk in and out of her life-"

The Duke opened his mouth to interrupt again, but Hakoda held up a hand, effectively silencing him. "You're nomadic. She is not. There will come a day, possibly sooner than you think, that she will want to be settled down, and married."

"I don't think so," the Duke said, recalling all of the conversations about marriage with Toph. She seemed highly against it.

Hakoda smiled, if a little sadly. "One day, she will, whether you are there or not. I know she doesn't act like a grown woman all the time, but she is, and you are not yet a man. So I am concerned for your future together."

"Look, I appreciate it," the Duke said. "But Toph and I have an understanding. We both know what we want right now, and it's none of _that_. We're good."

Hakoda looked at the Duke for a moment, before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Just think about what I've said, is all I ask," he said, and let go of his shoulder. "It's late, you should get to bed. You don't want to be exhausted tomorrow."

The Duke nodded. "Sure. G'night, Hakoda."

"Goodnight, the Duke."

* * *

The Duke did not go to bed. He sat up in his cabin, staring out a window, watching Kiyoshi approach. He had plans, important plans for tonight. Finally, the ship stopped moving, and dropped anchor, and the Duke waited for another half hour before moving.

Toph was curled up on the floor, a blanket wrapped around her. She preferred sleeping on the floor, where she could feel vibrations around her, but hadn't been able to until recently due to the cold. The Duke walked carefully and as quietly over to her as he could, but when he was about a foot away, her eyes flew open. He froze, as if that would stop her from seeing him; it was purely done on instinct.

"The Duke?" she asked sleepily, and yawned.

"Come with me," he said, grabbing her hand and attempted to pull her to her feet, but Toph apparently wasn't ready to get up, and resisted.

"It's the middle of the night, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She groaned, and wrenched her hand out of his. "Then let me finish sleeping!"

"But there's something I want you to see- er, feel."

Toph grumbled again. "You aren't going to just let me sleep, are you?"

"Not at all," the Duke said with a grin, and this time succeeded in pulling her to her feet.

Toph kept the blanket wrapped around herself, and he heard her grumbling further, about how this better be good. The Duke nearly laughed, but held her hand, and led the way up to the top deck.

"Can you tell if anyone is up there?" the Duke asked, pausing on the stairs.

"No one is," Toph said. She yawned, before asking, "What's going on? Are we sneaking off the ship or something?"

Well, damn. Why did Toph have to guess that? He couldn't even lie to make it a surprise, since she'd be able to tell that he was. "…Yeah," he admitted sheepishly.

"Are you serious?" Toph suddenly cried, causing the Duke to shush her as they walked across the top deck, to where the life boats were kept. "Why? Are we there?"

"Yep," the Duke said, reaching a life boat. He started to try and push it out, but it was damn heavy; luckily, Toph and her metal bending came in handy, for she helped to push it over the edge of the deck, where it hung, waiting for them to get inside. "We aren't supposed to go ashore until the morning, but I thought you'd like to feel some sand beneath your toes sooner than that."

"You're damn right I would!"

As the Duke helped Toph into the life boat, he could practically feel her excitement. He got in after her, and set to work as quickly as he could, lowering the boat. It was difficult to figure it out, and then to do it slowly so that they didn't just drop right into the water, thus waking up the whole ship and scaring Toph.

But, eventually, he figured it out, and soon enough, they were running up on the shore.

"Are we on land now?" Toph asked, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders, as she reached out of the boat, to try to touch the bottom. As the waves pushed and pulled along the shore, her fingertips brushed against the sand, and the Duke was not prepared for the shriek of happiness coming from her. She leapt out of the small boat and ran along the shoreline, having abandoned the blanket in the boat.

And the Duke just let her go, instead working on pulling the boat onto the shore far enough so that it wouldn't be lost to sea. Toph looked plenty happy and occupied, running around and bending the sand this way and that. Once the boat was finally at a good enough position, the Duke walked over to Toph, who was now on her back in the sand, making sand angels.

"How's it going?" he asked, sitting down by her, but giving her more than enough room to make her sand angels.

"Fantastically," she said with a happy sigh, and sat up. She wiggled her toes and fingers in the sand, a sublimely happy expression on her face. "I haven't even reached _real_ earth yet, and I couldn't be happier."

"Real earth?" the Duke repeated.

"Yeah, not sand. Sand is different and shifty. Not compact, like real earth."

"Oh. I thought all…earth was the same."

"No," Toph said with a shake of her head. "It's all different. Rocks and boulders, and mud and dirt and sand; they all bend differently and _feel _different. I don't like sand much, though; it's harder to manipulate and I can't see in it, and it reminds me of the desert."

The Duke nodded along. She'd told him about her journey through the Si Wong Desert with the Avatar and the rest of the group, and how she hadn't been able to save Appa from being kidnapped. He could tell the guilt of that had stuck with her for a while.

"Not that I _can't_ bend sand," Toph said suddenly. "'Cause I can."

"I never said you couldn't," the Duke pointed out.

"Just making sure you didn't think I couldn't."

The Duke smirked, and then looked up at the night sky. It was a great night, with a full moon and a full sky of stars, without a cloud at all. He was about to remark on how nice of a night it was, but caught himself. That would mean nothing to Toph. She couldn't see. It was a shame, he thought. Of course, she was hardly hindered by being blind, but still.

She didn't, and would never, know colors. She'd never know beauty or ugly, and that was big. It was important.

But maybe it was for the better in the long run. The Duke wasn't going to kid himself in the slightest. As far as looks went, he was average. He had a mop of brown hair on his head and brown eyes, with some rather childish freckles dotting over his nose and cheeks. He was tall, sure, but he was lanky. He didn't have the well rounded build of others…namely Sokka.

But Toph seemed to be over that crush. He could only hope so. He didn't really need her pining after her so-called best friend.

The Duke wasn't really a fan that she still considered Sokka to be her best friend. Hopefully, soon, that would change.

"Hey." The word was spoken the same time Toph punched him in the shoulder, and the Duke struggled not to wince. "You're too quiet. What are you thinking about?"

"Not much," the Duke said, only partially lying because he didn't really want to explain his slight jealousy of Sokka. He rubbed his arm, looking to the sky again. "The sky. Colors. You."

"Those don't seem to be related at all," Toph commented, and the Duke shrugged in response. At least she hadn't said anything about him not telling the complete truth.

"They are," he said. "But I don't think you want to hear about it. It's all about what I can see, and the pretty things around me."

Toph snorted. "Don't tell me you're going to go on about what I look like."

"Nah. You don't need to know that you're pretty ugly." The Duke grinned, even though she couldn't see it.

"Hey!" Toph punched him again, harder this time, and the Duke openly cringed. "Who said anything about ugly?"

"You're the one who always goes on about how beauty doesn't matter, and all that!"

"That doesn't mean you can call me ugly!" And with hardly any warning, Toph lunged at the Duke, and he half let her force him down into the sand, gripping his tunic hard. "And you were lying anyway- I could tell!"

The Duke could only laugh. "I know," he said gently, and tugged her down beside him. She did not let go of his tunic. "Do you want me to tell you that I really think you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen?"

"No," Toph said quickly and somewhat harshly, but the Duke had seen the blush skirt over her cheeks; she was pleased by the compliment.

He kissed her, soft at first. He didn't want to ruin this; right now, everything was perfect. But he should have known better. Toph was not gentle, nor would she ever be gentle, in anything. She returned the kiss with a slight force, pulling him closer to her, and he obliged, shifting over her, and moving his hand to the small of her back.

This was perfect. He and Toph just fit well, and would work well, despite what Hakoda had said.

* * *

Toph and the Duke ended up staying in Kiyoshi for about four days. They bid goodbye to Zuko and Mai before the pair left (Toph had taken it upon herself to insist, though quietly, to Zuko that she be among the first to find out about the engagement, which seemed to shock the young Fire Lord), and hung around the town, finding their own ways to amuse themselves.

Toph did her best to avoid being around Suki when her father was present; this was apparently the first time she'd been back to the island since becoming pregnant, and her father was ecstatic, nervous and over-protective all at once. She was in her fifth month, apparently, and both Sokka and her father seemed absolutely terrified that she hurt herself if she attempted to do anything remotely close to the activities she'd done as a Kiyoshi Warrior.

Bollocks. That was what Toph thought about that. Suki was a tough as anyone could get (excluding herself, of course). There was no need to pamper her, or any pregnant woman.

It was kind of a relief, in its own weird way, to be back on a ship, heading to the Earth Kingdom. As much as Toph hated traveling by boat, she was eager to leave Kiyoshi Island. It was just one of those places she never felt fully comfortable at; perhaps because it reminded her of a broken heart. It was, after all, where she knew she'd never, ever have Sokka the way that Suki did.

Not that it still bothered her. Nah, she'd long gotten over Sokka. He was still her best friend, of course, but not a love interest.

The trip to the Earth Kingdom did not take long at all; they reached Chin Village after only a few days at sea. The rest of the journey would be on foot, and Toph wouldn't have it any other way.

Just as the previous journey from Kiyoshi Island had gone, Toph was thoroughly enjoying herself. She got dirty. She slept outside, in her rock tent (shared with the Duke this time). She earth bent as she pleased, and cussed, and did exactly as she wished. She had forgotten how much being nomadic and on her own just worked for her. The closer they came to Gaoling, though, the more Toph slowed down.

The Duke had tried to bring up the subject once, but it had not gone so well.

"We could have reached Gaoling by now," he pointed out one day, as they meandered through a field.

"So?"

"If you don't want to go home, then-"

"There's some mountains nearby; there might be badger-moles in them! Let's go!"

And just like that, Toph would cut him off, just like every time he tried to breach the subject. She wasn't going to discuss it with him again. She'd done so far too many times.

By the time they'd reached her home town, Toph had introduced the Duke to a pair of badger-moles (the Duke was strangely enough frightened of the large animals), cheated half a dozen random people out of their money through games, been fawned over in a small village for being the Blind Bandit ("I forgot how much I missed the hero worship!") and had come to terms with the fact that maybe…just having 'fun' wasn't all she wanted with the Duke.

Which was the start of an argument upon reaching the outer gates of her home.

Toph could feel the uncomfortable tension from the Duke the closer they got, and it kind of irritated her. There was no need for him to get this wishy-washy just because _she_ was going to be home. It was stupid.

"You know," Toph said when they were nearly to the gates, "since you and I are kind of a thing, my parents are going to want to meet you."

She heard him gulp. "Really? You think so? I mean, it's not like I'm some high society guy, and besides, I'm not really cleaned up right now-"

"Stop putzin' around it," Toph said, a little crossly. This was the biggest problem she had with others, namely, non-earth benders. They couldn't just attack things head on, like she could. They danced around the problem, or ignored it, or tried a stupider, slower, less effective route. "Like it or not, you're going to have to meet them, or I'm going to keep being courted by whatever rich Earth Kingdom men haven't tried to win me over yet."

That made the Duke stop. "You really will?"

"Abso-freakin'-lutely. Unless my parents are convinced I'm in something serious, they'll keep throwing men at me- which, by the way, is getting really irritating," she explained, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Something serious," the Duke repeated, and just from the way he said 'serious,' Toph knew there was an issue.

"Yes, _serious_. It's the one way to get my parents off my back."

"I thought we agreed that we're _not_ serious," the Duke said. "That we're just having fun."

"Oh, let go of the technicalities, will ya? I just need you to meet my parents so I wouldn't have to deal with the courting nonsense so we'll have more time to spend together." Toph let out a frustrated sigh; this did not have to be so difficult.

The Duke was quiet a moment, clearly thinking. "…I'll probably have to bathe first," he finally said.

"And find nice clothes," Toph said in agreement, nodding. At least he'd come around.

The Duke sighed, defeated. "So when do I have to meet them?"

Toph considered the question for a moment, then clapped him on the shoulder. "Come by in time for dinner. I'll make sure we aren't eating the same old boring food like usual."

"…Okay." The Duke lingered there for a moment, then took her hand, the one that was on her shoulder, and gave it a light squeeze before walking away from her and the house.

"Hey!" Toph called immediately. "Where do you think you're going?"

The Duke stopped and turned around. "I have to find better clothes, and bathe," he said. "Unless you want me showing up the way I am."

"Hell, I don't care if you show up naked; it doesn't make a damn bit of difference to me," Toph said. It was her parents that were in love with appearances. "Just don't think you're getting away from me like that."

The Duke opened his mouth, clearly confused, but Toph acted quickly, earth bending the ground beneath his feet, and pulling him back to her. "I know I'm not the girliest thing in the world, and I don't ever plan on getting all weepy and emotional like Katara or anything," she said and then reached out, gripping the Duke's tunic, over the front of his chest. "But that doesn't mean I'm fine with you leaving me without a proper goodbye."

"Proper…?" The Duke repeated, and then smiled. _There we go_, Toph thought smugly, as the Duke leaned down to kiss her.

* * *

Another chapter up, hooray! I know I said this last chapter, but I promise, Smellerbee and Longshot will make an appearance soon!

Next chapter: The Duke meets Toph's parents!

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	12. Commitment Issues

Toph had a lot to do in preparation for tonight's dinner; she had to explain to her parents who the Duke was, make sure nothing too stupidly fancy was done for dinner (that would only make the Duke more uncomfortable, she was certain), and convince her parents that the Duke would be sticking around for a bit.

First step to all this: actually go inside and let her parents know she was home.

The guards opened the gate for her, and Toph could only sigh. She was back in high society life once more, completely unable to open doors or do anything of the sort of herself anymore. Woop-de-freakin'-do.

When she reached the door to her house, she shoved open the door, calling out (in a highly unladylike fashion), "Mom! Dad! I'm back!"

There was some shuffling in a nearby room, the study by the sounds of it. Toph scowled a little; she was nearly blind (well, her feet were; her eyes were always fully blind) in this house, in almost all the rooms. The floors in the majority of the rooms were wood, and while she could sort of pick up some vibrations, it wasn't the same. It was considerably worse than trying to see through sand.

"Toph, dear," Poppy Bei Fong said, having stepped out into the hall. "How- Oh dear, you're filthy." She wasn't scolding Toph in the slightest; instead, there was just disappointment in her voice

"Yeah, traveling will do that," Toph replied. And, in her usual manner, barreled right through to the news: "We have a guest for dinner tonight."

"What?" Poppy seemed genuinely surprised. "Toph, do you have a friend with you…?"

"Not right now; he's gonna wash up and be back in time to eat," Toph explained. "He's the Duke, and he helped fight against the Fire Nation with me. And we're kind of involved now."

It was as if Poppy had been hit in a rockalanche; with all that information, her mother was having a hard time processing what it all meant, and how to respond. When she did finally speak, Toph nearly slammed her hand against her forehead in frustration.

"The, uh, Duke of what, dear?"

"Nothing," Toph said, struggling to contain an aggravated sigh. "Nothing at all. He's that orphan friend you asked about a couple years ago."

"Orphan….? …Oh! Oh." From her tone of voice, Toph could tell that this was turning from a pleasant surprise to a rather disappointing one. "I thought you weren't interested in him." There seemed to be some slight hope to her voice in that statement.

"I wasn't. Now I am."

Her mother let out an audible sigh. "Toph, are you certain of this? There are many-" Poppy paused, reaching out to Toph, her hand going through her hair and pulling something out. It was probably a twig or something. Toph had thoroughly enjoyed laying out in the grass one last time before heading home. "-many men, different men, that you could be interested in. Men with a stable income."

It was Toph's turn to sigh. It was so hard keeping calm and not just snapping and cursing like she was used to. Both she and her parents were trying to meet in the middle; a compromise. Unfortunately, this was Poppy's way of compromising.

"Mom, you know I don't care about that," Toph said. "You'll like the Duke. Everyone likes the Duke."

* * *

As of right now, neither Poppy nor Lao liked the Duke. Dinner had been supposed to start an hour ago, and there was no sign at all of the Duke. In order to humor her parents, Toph had agreed to wait with them, until the Duke's arrival, in the tea room. And an hour into the wait, Toph could feel the displeasure just reeking off of her parents.

Not that she blamed them. She was rather annoyed at this point too.

"Perhaps," Poppy said, breaking the silence, "it would be best to just have dinner. Maybe your friend had something come up that is keeping him from getting here."

Lao remained tersely silent, but stood up to go to the kitchen. He was not happy; not with her, and not impressed by this boy she'd invited to dinner so they could meet him.

Where _was_ the Duke? She'd told him exactly when to be here, and he'd _be_ here. Unless he suddenly became chicken shit and got cold feet. Toph let out a scowl at that idea, and stood up, just has her parents had.

But she wasn't going to go eat dinner with them now. Hell no; she had to know what was up with the Duke.

"I'm going to go find him," Toph announced.

She knew her parents didn't like that idea either, the way that they stiffened. "Toph," Lao said, his voice a little stern, "we are going to eat dinner now. Our guest is extremely late, and at this point, unwelcome due to his inconsiderate rudeness."

No way. This was not happening. "Give me fifteen minutes," she said, already starting to the front door. "I'll be back by then, with or without him."

It was Poppy who caved. She'd always been the one to try and take it an extra step, giving Toph more space. "Alright, Toph dear. We'll be waiting in the dining room."

That was all Toph needed. With that blessing, she left the house, her anger growing. When she did find the Duke, she was going to kick his scrawny little ass for this.

* * *

After parting with Toph, the Duke had gone into town, with some money that she'd given him, to buy new clothes. He didn't really care much about the state of his clothes, and neither did Toph, so that had to be just for her parents. It made sense, though; they'd lived in the biggest home he'd ever seen (apart from the palace in the Fire Nation). They were filthy rich, and were so stuck on high society, that appearances would probably matter a lot to them.

The Duke couldn't bring himself to buy the grand robes that seemed to be popular with those with money; they just weren't practical. How could he travel all over the world with clothing that dragged on the ground, and would catch on rocks and roots? He'd opted for modest attire; a new tunic and pants, and with the extra money left over, he had his thoroughly worn boots shined.

And all the while, there was a knot in his stomach, twisting tighter and tighter.

Toph had seemed pretty serious about him meeting her parents. To give him money for clothes, and suggest that he get cleaned up (Toph, who loved all things dirty, had suggested it!) meant that she wanted her parents to like him. Which meant that she wanted him sticking around for a long time.

Not that the Duke was even considering the idea of only staying with Toph for a short time. No; he wanted her around, and to be with her. This was just on a different level. A very _serious_ level.

And he couldn't help but to remember what Hakoda had told him, that one day, Toph would want to settle down. Was that day approaching sooner than he'd expected?

That thought alone made the Duke's palms sweaty. He was fifteen! Almost an adult, but not quite there yet, and not ready for a lifelong commitment! He couldn't even commit to staying in one place for more than a few weeks at a time.

And then there was the thought of being in a home, and seeing a family together. A _whole_ family, one that had remained virtually untouched by the Fire Nation during the war. Such families were hard to come by nowadays, and he was going to be thrust into their home and forced to eat and make small talk with them.

Parents bothered him. Homes bothered him. Anything that reminded him of his life before the Fire Nation destroyed everything he had bothered him, deep down, on a level he couldn't quite understand. They made him sad, and angry, and frustrated.

And all these emotions whirled through him as he reflected, while bathing in a nearby river.

He was so intensely lucky, to have Toph as much as he did. She was known throughout the whole world for her bending abilities, for being the only earth bender to ever bend metal, not to mention she was beautiful and rich, and just so amazing. The Duke didn't want to risk things being called short because of this dinner thing.

But it scared him. Everything about the damn dinner scared him.

Which is why he found himself unable to go any further than where he was: a hill near the Bei Fong estate, just overlooking it. Toph had asked him to be there, well, now, but he couldn't. He simply couldn't.

Time passed. He didn't move from his spot, even as the sun started to dip below the horizon. He couldn't go in, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. That would be the cowardly thing to do, and the Duke was no coward at all.

And then, he saw something that made his heart plummet: Toph. She had left the gate- stormed through it, was more like it- and was stomping her way up toward him. The Duke swore he could feel the earth rippling with ever pounding footstep she made. He was in trouble. He knew it. He was extremely late, and this was it. Toph would probably leave him in a world of hurt once she was done with him.

"What are you doing?" Toph snapped at him, the moment he was in earshot; she never slowed her pace. "Dinner was supposed to be an hour ago!"

"I'm sorry," the Duke said immediately, but before he could continue, she started at him again.

"You're making me look like an asshole, and what's worse is that you're making _yourself_ look like an asshole! What is wrong with you?"

The Duke swallowed; Toph was now inches away, glaring angrily at his chest. Cripes; why was it that those smaller than him intimidated him so well?

"I can't do it," the Duke said, his tone defeated. "Homes and families-"

That seemed to kick her anger up a notch. "_That's _what your problem is? That stupid thing from two years ago? Are you kidding me?"

"No." The Duke didn't know why he expected Toph to be understanding about this. She was as stubborn as a platypus bear, and with twice the ferocity when she was angry. "This isn't something stupid-"

"It damn well is!"

"It isn't!" the Duke suddenly snapped. "It isn't! You don't know what it's like for me! I don't do families, and I don't do homes, okay?" He looked away angrily.

"You might be able to opt out of all of it, but I can't!" Toph countered back. "You're going to have to go in there one day and meet my parents if we're going to stay together; it isn't a damn option! And the sooner we get it over with, the sooner my parents get off my back about all these suitors and all the bullshit that goes with it! Got it?" She prodded him hard in the chest.

"Since when is this so important? What happened to just having fun-"

"We _are_ just having fun!" Toph yelled angrily at him. "All this is going to do is get my parents to lighten up; that's it!"

"I can't go in there-"

"You didn't have a problem going into homes in the South Pole!"

It was kind of exhilarating to just scream back and forth like this; the Duke couldn't remember the last person he'd had a fight with. Though, it kind of really sucked that he was fighting with Toph.

….Especially with the knowledge that she could kick his ass to the spirit world if she so wished.

"That was different!" The Duke retorted. "It was either that, or die from exposure to the elements!"

"What is so terrible about a home?"

"They never last!"

And with that, Toph fell silent, a confused look on her face. "What on earth are you talking about?" she asked, her tone calmer, but there was some warning to it.

It was then that the Duke realized what he'd said, and he felt his cheeks get warmer in embarrassment. Crap, how was he going to explain this? "Nothing," he mumbled, looking away.

"No, you're lying. There's something to that, and I want to know what," Toph said, moving closer; the Duke hadn't even realized he'd stepped back until then.

The Duke sighed. "Look, every home I've ever had has fallen apart," he said, looking down at the ground. Even though Toph was blind, and wouldn't be able to see the nerves or shame on his face, he still couldn't look at her. "And every lasting home I see is just a reminder of that. Nothing lasts; not for me."

Once again, Toph was quiet, which was weird, especially since they'd just been arguing, and the Duke found himself wishing her eyes were more expressive. It just wasn't fair sometimes; she could read his emotions so easily, and it was beyond difficult at times to read hers.

"So, going to people's homes reminds you of…your family," she finally said, and there was a slight question to her voice; she was waiting for him to confirm it.

It was mostly right, so the Duke nodded. "And of the Freedom Fighters."

"Okay."

That was it, the whole response from Toph, and the Duke wasn't entirely sure if he should take that one way or another. "So…you understand why I can't go in there?"

"Yeah," Toph said, and the Duke let out a sigh of relief. All was good…until she spoke again. "But I think it's stupid."

"Toph-"

"The Duke, I'm not saying it doesn't upset you or whatever. That's fine; have those mushy feeling things. But you're ruining my plans right now. You _could_ be giving me a ticket to freedom, and you _could _be getting my parents off my back so we have all the time in the world together, but you're pussying out." Toph scowled at his chest. "If my parents see that I have a good, solid boyfriend or whatever you are to me, then I won't have to meet a new guy every other week. Got it?"

The Duke sighed. He wasn't trying to 'pussy out.' And he really didn't like the idea of her parents setting her up with a new guy every few days. Toph…Toph was _his_, and no one else's. Even if they hadn't expressed what their status was yet, and even if the Duke was scared of declaring themselves an item or boyfriend and girlfriend, or whatever. Regardless, the Duke wanted her to be his, and only his.

But, when he pictured himself going down, and into her home and meeting her parents, and establishing some sort of relationship with them, his stomach started to knot.

"I get it," the Duke said. "But I can't."

"Why?" The anger was back. Toph was losing her patience once more, and the Duke was actually very surprised how long she was fighting with him on this.

"This has nothing to do with my parents," she continued, her tone on edge.

"Then what does this have to do with?" the Duke countered, more confused than anything else now.

Toph looked like she wanted to strangle him. "_Us_, the Duke, us! So there can be an 'us!' So I don't have to feel guilty whenever I'm forced to entertain some stupid macho rich guy my parents want me to marry! So I can spend time with you instead of whoever else!"

And then, the Duke realized Toph had already gone ahead and decided what they would be, something the Duke was not ready for.

* * *

Toph sensed the change in the Duke immediately, as soon as she said the word 'us.' He stiffened, swallowed, and she could feel _some_ sort of hesitance to his stance, to his emotions.

"What?" she snapped, once she felt this. "Why are you getting all wishy-washy on me?"

He seemed unsure of what to say, or just plain didn't want to answer. "Toph… I think I made a mistake."

_You're damn right you did_. But something told Toph he didn't mean that his mistake was avoiding dinner with her parents. "What are you talking about?"

He shifted, and turned his head away from her, a gesture that Toph had picked up to mean that he was about to say something she wouldn't like. "I think you and I want different things."

She was right. He'd said something she didn't like. "That better not mean what I think it means," she said, folding her arms over her chest in a confident manner, but it was a bluff. She wasn't feeling confident, for once in her life.

"I'm not ready for this kind of commitment."

Toph was surprised a simple sentence could hurt that badly. And she didn't understand what the Duke was talking about. They'd had this discussion, about how they both wanted to just have a simple, fun relationship. Toph wasn't demanding that he marry her, just that he help out so they can have that fun and simple time together.

It seemed like the Duke was looking for 'fun' and 'simple', but absolutely no 'relationship.'

"Fine," Toph said, her voice even; she was rather proud at how well she was hiding any sort of feelings of hurt right now. She took a step backwards, and started to turn to go back to her parent's house.

"You can take you commitment issues, and go fuck yourself."

* * *

Toph awoke the next day feeling rather groggy. Her eyes felt swollen and puffy, and she was a little thirsty.

Crying right before falling asleep was known to do that.

She hadn't returned to have dinner with her parents. Upon reentering the house, she'd gone straight to her room, slamming the door angrily behind her. Thankfully, Toph's parents recognized that as the universal sign to leave their child undisturbed, and didn't attempt to see her once that night.

Toph really hadn't expected to be so upset over what had happened with the Duke. She'd liked him, yes, and cared about him a lot; they'd been good friends for years, and it had only seemed right that their friendship had turned into something more: into Toph's first relationship.

But apparently the Duke hadn't considered it that. He hadn't wanted a relationship of any sort, just someone to spend time with, and have fun with, and kiss often, without the romantic feelings involved in a relationship.

And Toph couldn't do that. She down right refused to.

Toph wanted love. She'd felt it and witnessed it in everyone around her; in her parents, in Sokka and Suki, and Aang and Katara, and Zuko and Mai, and she _yearned_ for it. And it seemed like the Duke could possibly give that to her.

Until last night. He'd squashed that idea flat. He'd simply wanted the physical aspects of a relationship, minus the emotions that were supposed to come with it.

Toph didn't really want to dwell on this and sulk all day. This sucked, but life went on, and Toph could do a damn good job of hiding the fact that she was upset.

Number one thing scheduled for today: avoid the parents, an easy enough feat when able to earth bend. After dressing, and making sure she had enough money on her to keep her amused for the day, she paused by her door, slowly sliding it open enough to sneak her hand out. Placing her hand flat on the ground, she tried to figure out where her parents were. There…she could feel her mother in the study, with her father, and someone else….

Toph's eyes widened when she realized who, and bolted out of her room to the study. Forcing the door to the study open, she stood very still in the doorway, not quite certain what she wanted to say yet to the visitor.

To the Duke.

He was in the study. With her parents. In her house. Doing exactly what he'd refused to do last night.

"Toph!" Lao said in surprise, clearly not expecting her to suddenly appear in the doorway. "What-"

"What are you doing here?" Toph suddenly demanded, addressing the Duke, and she couldn't keep the anger out of her voice.

The Duke swallowed. "I…thought about what we talked about last night," he said slowly. "And you were right."

This was not what Toph expected to find first thing in the morning, especially after the fight. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

There was a small amount of silence in the room; Toph was rather impatiently waiting for the Duke to spill it out; if he had to say it in front of her parents, then so be it. But the Duke wasn't talking, only fidgeting nervously.

Finally, Poppy was the one to speak. "Perhaps it would be good for the two of you to take a walk around the garden together," she said finally, and the Duke sputtered out some sort of agreeing statement.

"Fine." Toph turned, and walked out of the room, bent on getting outside quickly; she didn't wait to make sure the Duke was with her. This did not make any sense at all. Last night, she couldn't force the Duke to come down and meet her parents, and now, he'd come here freely, without her knowledge!

"You'd better have a good reason for being here," Toph said, as soon as she heard the door close behind the Duke, and felt him walking toward her. She kept her back to him.

The Duke was quiet for a moment, as he walked up beside her. "I never fully explained last night why it's so hard for me to…do things like this," he said quietly. "I've lost every home I've ever had, Toph; my family, the Freedom Fighters, even with Pipsqueak. It just seems that…." He paused, taking a breath. "It seems that every time I attach myself to some place or someone, I lose it."

"That's not how life is," Toph snapped angrily. "That's not what _this_ is. I just wanted you to meet my parents, not build some sort of relationship with them!"

"I know," the Duke said. "I know. But that's not what I was so…worried about. I was- I am- worried about making a relationship with you."

Toph almost screamed at him. Almost. She held back, but only by the tiniest bit…and because the Duke had continued speaking.

"I care about you, Toph. I have for a long time- for _years_, I've wanted something with you. And it was safe, just wanting it. You were always not interested, or preoccupied, or something, and that made it okay. If I only wanted you, and never had you, I could never lose you."

Toph scoffed. "You're making me sound like a pet poodle-monkey, or something. I'm not something to _own-_"

"I know you aren't," the Duke said swiftly. "I don't want to- to own you."

"You damn better not, or I'll kick your ass to the spirit world."

The Duke sighed. "Can I continue?"

"If you insist."

The Duke seemed to want to say something snappy back, but managed to stop himself. _Smart boy, _Toph thought.

"When you kissed me in the south pole, I was both excited and scared. But then you told me you only wanted fun, and I thought that meant there wasn't going to be an established relationship status; that I wouldn't be attached to you in any way-"

"So what, you just want to be friends with me with some action on the side?"

"I did-"

"I'm not some whore, the Duke!"

The Duke cringed, and held up his hands. "I know, and I don't think of you that way-"

"Then why would you want that?"

"I don't! I was confused, that's all. I thought that by not making us an official anything, I'd have nothing to lose with you, that if it ended, I wouldn't have lost anything to begin with." He paused, taking a small step closer; Toph narrowed her eyes. If he thought things were going well, he was sorely mistaken. "But I was wrong. Really wrong. Last night- last night _sucked_, okay? After you left, I couldn't stop feeling so alone and couldn't understand why, and then it hit me: I _had_ lost you, even with all I'd done to avoid that from ever happening, I'd done it. And I don't want that. And…you were so bent on me meeting your parents that I figured this was the best way to start making things right. I want you, Toph. I want to be with you; no matter what we are, I want to be with you."

Moments passed. Toph stood still and straight, taking in all of what the Duke had said. "…Are you sure you're only fifteen?" she finally said. "That was a damn good speech."

The Duke shuffled his feet around, kicking the ground a bit. "I just said what I was thinking…."

Toph stepped closer to the Duke. "You have got a lot of making up ahead of you," she told him. "Don't think just because you made this speech everything is peaches and gravy, got it?"

"Y-yeah, I got it," the Duke sputtered out.

"Okay," she said with a nod. "How long were you in there with my parents?"

"Oh…. It took a while just to get in," the Duke admitted. "I stood at the gate for ages, before I was finally allowed in. I'd only just introduced myself when you came into the room. I, uh, gave them my real name."

If Toph's eyes worked, she would have stared at him in disbelief. "You did what?"

"Yeah. I figured things would go over better if they knew my name, and not my nickname."

Toph didn't move for a moment, she was still in shock. His _real_ name? He'd actually given that out? She doubted if Pipsqueak even knew his real name, and he'd taken that big of a step just in the hopes that her parents would like him better by knowing it?

She'd grabbed his tunic before she even thought about what she was doing, and pulled him toward her, before pressing her lips to his; she'd caught him by surprise, and his mouth was half open when they connected. But she didn't have time to stop or make a comment on the awkwardness of it, for the Duke recovered, returning the kiss, cupping her cheeks in his hand, and Toph suddenly and surprisingly found herself loving how small he made her feel.

She was ready to cut the kiss short- her parents _were_ just inside the house, after all- but the Duke apparently wasn't. When she started to pull away, he pulled her back, a hand moving to her back to keep her close, to give her a few more kisses.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, and once more in her hair. "For last night; I'm sorry."

"You'd better be," Toph said affectionately, though there was a warning to her tone. "Oh." She pressed a finger to his chest, her face growing serious again.

"Don't you _ever_ go all wishy-washy on me again. _Ever_."

* * *

So guys, I've finally gotten a beta reader: the fantastic Inali Grimalkin! Hopefully now I will never have a mistake again!

I hope you guys enjoyed this, and please leave constructive criticisms.


	13. A Reunion

Things went surprisingly smoothly once The Duke and Toph returned inside to meet her parents. It was awkward, yes, with her father's probing questions about The Duke's life, but Toph was incredibly happy at how well her mother took everything. After all, in her parent's eyes, The Duke had pretty much nothing going for him; he was fifteen, an orphan, as poor as they came, with little to no formal education. But Poppy was kind to him, and Toph made a mental note to thank her mother for that later.

She could feel the Duke's nerves the whole time, as he answered their questions as best as he could. It was clear that he was not their favorite choice for their daughter, but by the time it ended, they'd accepted him.

Toph was overjoyed by this. All she needed was the acceptance and knowledge from her parents that she was not currently single, and would not have to meet with potential suitors, and she'd gotten it.

"I can't believe how well that went," Toph said happily. They were in a field near town; Toph was laying on her back, enjoying the warmth from the sun. The Duke was sitting near her. "And I can't believe you actually told them your real name."

"Yeah…. Well, I've been considering…using it again."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding me."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "That name- 'The Duke'- keeps me tied to the Freedom Fighters. They're long gone. I should detach myself from them."

"So you want me to start calling you Sheng Li?"

It was a moment before the Duke answered. "…It sounds weird when you say it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Toph asked, sitting up.

"I don't know."

"So…should I call you the Duke, or Sheng Li?"

"Sheng Li, I guess," the Duke said. "I have to get used to hearing that name. But, speaking of the Freedom Fighters, I kind of want to go visit Pipsqueak soon. You should come with me."

Toph shook her head. "I've gotta stay here for a little while. Keep on good terms with my parents, you know?"

"I know," the Duke said with a sigh. He shifted closer and put his arm around her, brushing his lips against her hair. "I was kind of hoping you'd…you know, forget about that."

"Fat chance."

The Duke chucked a little, and then silence fell between them. Toph enjoyed this. With her palms flat against the ground, she could easily feel his heartbeat, and took some comfort in that. Even when no one was around, no animals at all, she could still feel vibrations within the earth, almost like a beating heart. The rhythm within the Duke's heart was similar to that, and the familiarity of it made Toph feel rather content.

"So, Sheng Li, huh?" she finally said. The name sounded strange, and felt strange to say.

The Duke nodded, his chin brushing against the side of her head. "Yeah. Weird, isn't it?"

"Very," Toph said in agreement. "Think Pipsqueak will call you that?"

"No. Old habits die hard for him," the Duke said, amusement in his voice. "He'll probably always call me 'the Duke.'"

"Someone should," Toph said absentmindedly. "….So when are you leaving? To go see Pipsqueak, I mean."

The Duke was quiet a moment, thinking. "In a few days. I haven't seen him in nearly a year; it's time I head back up there."

Toph let out a slight huff, resting against him. "Guess I can't really expect you to hang around here and amuse me, huh?"

"I'll be back," the Duke promised with a small chuckle. "It won't take me two years to get back this time, though."

"It'd better not," Toph said sourly, which only made the Duke laugh.

* * *

During the week before the Duke left, Toph found it increasingly difficult to gain some alone time with him, and it was all due to one meddling factor: her parents. As Lao explained, with Poppy nodding in agreement the entire time, they knew that whenever she'd go out, she'd almost certainly meet up with the Duke, and while they were certain he was 'a fine young man', they were still concerned about her honor.

Her honor. Pffft. Tough found it laughable that they were so concerned about that; but then again, what else did they have left to be concerned about? She had already run away from home, fought against treacherous villains, and tricked various people out of their money.

But Toph wished they understood they had _nothing_ to be so damn concerned about. It wasn't as if she'd lost her virginity yet, nor was she about to go and have sex with the Duke at any moment. It wasn't _completely_ out of the question (not that she'd ever tell her parents that), but it wasn't the first thing she had in mind.

It was very irritating, however, having a guard attempt to accompany her wherever she went.

At first, Toph simply tried to lose him in the crowd when she went in to town. That worked, but only for so long. There were very few places in town that she enjoyed going to, and the guard knew the places she frequented. And so, despite being successful in ditching the guard, she was quickly found again, and had to continually be moving.

It was fun, a little, at first; kind of thrilling, in its own way, and the Duke seemed to enjoy it as well. But after a while, Toph just wanted some peace and quiet and to just be _alone_ and undisturbed with the Duke.

Lao scolded her quite harshly when he found out she started encasing the guard in a rock tent in her desperation to be alone.

And so, once again, another stupid compromise was made: Toph could be given some privacy with the Duke, so long as it was inside their garden, and a servant would check on them every half hour or so- though most times, it was less than that.

"I feel like I'm being caged," Toph moaned one afternoon to the Duke. They were, of course, in the gardens, as far from the house as they could get. She was lying on her back in the grass, a slightly sour expression on her face.

The Duke said nothing in return. He sat beside her, trying to whistle through blades of grass, and seemed wholly preoccupied in this task. He'd tried to get Toph involved with it, but she'd grown bored, and resorted to lying on her back and feeling the earth instead.

But when she earned no response from him, she rolled onto her stomach, closer to him. "What will you do when you visit Pipsqueak?" she asked.

She felt him shrug. "I don't know," he said, letting go of a blade of grass. "Talk. Catch up. He'll probably put me to work; last I saw him, he was setting up a farm with his girlfriend."

"A farm," Toph repeated thoughtfully. "I could work on a farm. Lots of earth to move around."

The Duke snorted, laughing lightly. "There's more to farming than earth-bending, you know. I don't even think that's really necessary for farming." He paused, plucking another blade of grass from the ground. "Do you actually even want to work on a farm?"

"I'm considering other career moves than just being the sole Bei Fong heir, since it's currently ruining my life."

The Duke laughed. "Well, you could always open up a school- an earth bending school, I mean. I bet tons of people would want to be taught by the Blind Bandit; you were the Avatar's teacher, after all."

"A _school_?" Toph repeated, as if that was the silliest idea she'd ever heard. "Are you kidding me? Teaching Aang was difficult enough. I'm not about to try and teach some babies."

"But what about metal bending, though? I mean, you've got to teach somebody _that_."

"I don't have to do anything," Toph said. "Besides, it's not that easy; it's not like earth bending. Earth is easy to feel; you _know_ where it is around you. Metal bending is different. The earth is in the metal, but it's…changed, and you have to know how to control it. It's not so obvious, and no one is patient enough to learn it, and I'm not patient enough to teach it."

"So the secret to metal bending will die with you?"

"Sounds about right."

The Duke was quiet for a moment, contemplative. And Toph let him fall into silence, following the same suit. However, she did notice that he wasn't trying to whistle through the grass again; something was on his mind.

"Maybe…" The Duke said slowly, "maybe that's how it should be."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, metal bending is kind of…unnatural, 'cause metal isn't natural. It's like a warped, distorted version of earth bending. Like blood bending."

Toph's face went sour instantly. She'd told the Duke once about the blood bending incident, and while she'd never actually witnessed Katara blood bending, she'd seen the effect it had on Katara, and Aang and Sokka had told her what it had felt like. That was something that no one _ever_ should do; it was like black magic.

"Metal bending is _nothing_ like blood bending." Toph sat up. "Blood bending is cruel and evil, and Katara was upset for _days_ after she was forced into blood bending. It exploits the bender. Metal bending is nothing like that." She was glaring in the Duke's direction, absolutely offended that he'd ever think that something she'd invented would be as terrible as blood bending.

"I'm sorry," the Duke said, quick to apologize. "I'm not a bender; I don't get it, I guess. I can only…make my assumptions, based on what I've seen." He paused, and then changed the subject. "So, if you aren't going to be the Bei Fong heir, or a teacher, what are you going to do?"

Toph considered the question, still calming down from how the Duke had gotten her riled up. "I haven't decided yet," she finally said. She'd probably have to get out of her parent's house soon, though, if she was going to do anything else.

But thoughts like that could wait until she was going out of her mind, living at home. She hadn't quite reached that point yet.

"What are you going to do?" Toph asked, turning the question around on him.

"Travel, and do random jobs wherever I go for food or money," the Duke said effortlessly, as if it were the easiest question in the world. "There's still so many places left to see. I'd like to go to the Fire Nation again. Haven't been there since Zuko was crowned Fire Lord."

"Just wait until Zuko gets hitched to Mai," Toph said. "I'll be going then." Even though the engagement hadn't even been announced, Toph was certain she'd be invited to the wedding.

The Duke shrugged. "I don't think I'll be invited. I never had the chance to get close to him, like you have."

"Well, you'll just have to come as my date then," she said. "I'll take you with me to the Fire Nation. We'll travel across it together."

"Sounds perfect," the Duke said, and started to lean in to kiss her, but Toph held up a hand.

"The maid is coming," she said glumly. Stupid maids, always ruining the moment.

The Duke made a sort of frustrated noise and sat back, just as the maid reached them. "How is everything, Miss Bei Fong?" she asked politely.

"Fine," Toph said shortly.

"Is there anything you need?"

"No."

"Very well." The maid bowed to the both of them, and then walked off.

Toph let out a frustrated sigh, resting her chin in her hand.

"She always seems to come when I'm about to kiss you," the Duke commented.

"Or the other way around," Toph said, and the Duke nodded in agreement. It was so annoying, and she let out a groan.

The Duke let out a sympathetic noise, and brushed her hair out of her eyes before kissing her forehead. "We're alone now, though," he pointed out.

"Oh?" Toph raised her head a little. "And you have something in mind?"

There was a smirk in the Duke's voice as he said, "Maybe."

"Like what, Sheng Li?"

The Duke had been moving closer, and paused when she said his real name, if only for half a second. "Oh, things."

Toph leaned back, away from the Duke, and smirked. "Enlighten me," she said simply.

The Duke didn't answer right away. Instead, he shifted himself closer to her, easing himself over her, so that he was straddling her legs. Toph couldn't stop smirking the entire time, despite the slight flutter she was getting in the pit of her stomach. And then he kissed her, a hand on her cheek, and Toph couldn't be happier.

* * *

It took nearly a month, but the Duke finally reached the small town Pipsqueak lived outside of. The town wasn't far from the rural mining village Haru was from; often times, the Duke would stop by to visit Haru. Not this time; he'd probably do that on the way back. He'd wandered enough on his way to the village, as he always did when traveling. The destination wasn't so much important as the journey was, after all.

The Duke lingered outside of the town for a little while. Seeing old friends was always a little nerve wrecking for him. When years passed between seeing a friend, he always wondered if it would be just like it had been.

It was stupid to be so concerned now. This was Pipsqueak, of all people. Nothing would ever grow strained between them.

It didn't take too long to find the farm he lived on. The Duke had been there once before. There were few animals on the farm, just a couple of chicken-pigs; Pipsqueak seemed to be more focused on growing grains, or something.

The Duke knocked on the door, after lingering outside of it for a moment. There were the usual sounds of shuffling from inside, and footsteps, and then the door was opened wide, revealing Pipsqueak.

"The Duke!" Pipsqueak boomed, and in mere seconds, the Duke found himself wrapped in a tight platypus-bear hug.

"Hey Pipsqueak," the Duke said, happily returning the hug.

"Where have you been? It's been years! Oh!- You came just in time," Pipsqueak said, finally letting go of the Duke, but keeping a hand on his back as he guided him into the house. "Wait until you see who's here!"

The Duke looked curiously up at Pipsqueak. Who would be here that Pipsqueak would be excited about?

"Pipsqueak, who was at the door?" came a voice that was incredibly familiar, and the Duke had only just placed it when they came to the living room, and there was Longshot and Smellerbee, sitting with Pipsqueak's girlfriend. They looked different- older, and Smellerbee's hair was longer, though just as unkempt as before, and Longshot's hat (which was on the floor beside him) had many more holes than the Duke remembered.

They stared at him for a few moments, looking at him oddly as if they couldn't quite place who he was. The Duke just couldn't find the words to speak. Smellerbee and Longshot. Here. In Pipsqueak's house. In front of him.

It had never occurred to the Duke to go looking for other Freedom Fighters. And yet…he'd found them, accidentally.

"Smellerbee," he finally said, almost stuttering out her name. "Longshot- you- I can't believe you're here!"

Smellerbee stared at him curiously for another second, before it seemed to suddenly click, and then she was on her feet. "The Duke?"

The Duke didn't respond. Instead, he hugged her as tightly as he could; seeing her and Longshot was like connecting to his childhood, back to the last time and place he ever felt like he belonged. It felt wonderful.

* * *

Pipsqueak's girlfriend, Chen, had cooked up a hearty dinner of rice and duck for everyone. Though the farm house was small, and it would certainly be very cramped with the three extra people, she had been very warm and welcoming, and so hospitable. The Duke was rather fond of her.

"So where have you been all this time?"

It was Smellerbee who had spoken, of course; the Duke had never known Longshot to speak, ever.

"Pipsqueak filled us in already on the Day of Black Sun in the Fire Nation, that you two were there for it," she continued. She had a bite of rice held in her chopsticks, ready to be eaten, once she was finished talking.

"We split up then," Pipsqueak said. "Only the youngest, and lightest, left of the Avatar's bison that day."

The Duke nodded. That had been a very sad farewell for him; even at such a young age, he'd understood that there would be a distinct possibility of never seeing Pipsqueak again. "I went off with the Avatar," he said. "We stayed in some Air Temple ruins- they were amazing! They hung upside down under a cliff, and there were so many rooms there; it was like its own city!"

He paused to take a bite of his meal, before continuing on. "We stayed there for a while, even after Zuko showed up-" Smellerbee's face turned slightly sour at Zuko's name, and the Duke knew he'd have to explain that Zuko wasn't some big jerk. "-which was good, because he was good and he ended training Aang to fire bend. He even helped get Sokka's dad out of prison!"

And the Duke carried on, explaining how he, Teo, Haru and Hakoda were separated from Aang and his friends, and his life beyond there; how he'd traveled once the war had ended, first with Pipsqueak, and then on his own, and of his new relationship with Toph. Pipsqueak had clapped him hard on the shoulder and congratulated him, while Longshot simply gave him a knowing nod.

"What have you two been doing?" the Duke asked as dinner finished up; they were all done their meals now, and were all sitting comfortably around the table still. "I haven't seen you guys since you split from the Freedom Fighters with-" His eyes went wide, suddenly remembering this very key bit of information. "Where's Jet? I can't believe I didn't notice he wasn't here with you guys! How's he doing?" He eagerly looked from Longshot to Smellerbee, waiting for any information on him.

Smellerbee and Longshot exchanged a brief look, before turning their gaze back to him and Pipsqueak.

"That's actually why we're here," Smellerbee said, her tone somber, making the Duke uncomfortable. "We've been trying to track down all the old Freedom Fighters, to…explain what happened."

And it was then that the Duke knew. If something bad happened to Jet- as Smellerbee's tone was implying- and Smellerbee and Longshot were not with Jet….

"What happened?" Pipsqueak asked, his hand on the Duke's shoulder. The Duke glanced up at him, then quickly back at Smellerbee and Longshot. Pipsqueak had always been good at picking up when the Duke was close to being upset.

"Jet…. Jet died, just before the fall of Ba Sing Se," Smellerbee said, her voice quiet.

The Duke felt a little sick, and like there were stones in his stomach. He felt heavy and ill. Jet was dead. He'd always suspected it, had been certain that was what he was going to hear a moment ago, but hadn't ever wanted to believe it. It was easier to hope that Jet, a real life super hero, had lived on, and had been as amazing and reckless as ever.

The Duke finally spoke, his voice cracking a little. "What…what happened?" he asked. He needed to know everything. Who had killed him? Someone had to have killed Jet; Jet was too awesome to succumb to disease or hunger, and there was no way he'd ever kill himself. He had to have been murdered, it was the only way.

"It's a long story," Smellerbee said with a sigh, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Longshot squeezed her shoulder, and she gave him a small, hardly there smile that the Duke only just managed to see. And then, as if that was all the encouragement she needed, the began to tell the story.

"We left the Freedom Fighters to start a new life, and have a clean slate," she said. "Jet was…he was messed up after the Avatar had shown up and the town was flooded. He'd needed a fresh start, and Longshot and I decided to go with him, to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. We decided to go to Ba Sing Se, since it was the safest place in the Earth Kingdom, with plenty of opportunities inside.

"On the ferry ride into the city, we met…a boy, and his uncle. Called themselves Lee and Mushi. We all got along well and all, and then Jet figured- well, he somehow got it in his head that Lee and Mushi were Fire Nation, and he- he became obsessed with outing them. Turns out he was right; we didn't know it until after the war ended, but Lee and Mushi were the Fire Nation's prince Zuko, and General Iroh. But we didn't believe him that they were Fire Nation"

The Duke's eyes widened; they'd met Zuko and Iroh? The Duke had only met Iroh briefly, but he seemed pretty cool.

Smellerbee took a deep breath. It seemed rather hard for her to talk about this part, and once again, Longshot gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"It didn't matter what we did; Jet's only concern was exposing Lee and Mushi as Fire Nation, even though he didn't have any proof at all. He eventually got into a fight with the boy, in the tea shop he worked in. The Dai Li agents ended up taking Jet away."

The Duke cringed at the mention of the Dai Li. Toph had encountered them once, and relayed the story to him. They sounded like terrible people.

"What are the Dai Li?" Chen asked curiously.

"Earth-bending police in Ba Sing Se," the Duke said, before looking back to Smellerbee, waiting for her to continue the story. He needed to know what happened to Jet.

"You know who the Dai Li are?" she asked. "Most people outside of Ba Sing Se have never heard of them."

"Toph told me about them once," he explained. "Said she'd had a run in with them when she was in Ba Sing Se with Aang and everyone."

Smellerbee stared at him, a slightly confused look on her face. "Then you already know what happened to Jet."

"What?"

"We found Jet with the Avatar and his friends, and went up against the Dai Li with them," she explained. "Didn't Toph tell you why they were fighting the Dai Li?"

The Duke nodded, frowning. "Yeah, she said it was because they were trying to get Appa back, and that the Dai Li probably had him. But she didn't mention you guys…or Jet…."

"We were there," Smellerbee assured him, a little forcefully. "We only knew to go to Lake Laogai because of Jet."

"I'm confused," Cheng said, raising her hand up slightly, and the Duke nodded in agreement. This was incredibly confusing. "What did the Dai Li do with Jet? Was he just in prison?"

Smellerbee shook her head. "No," she said. "They brainwashed him. He forgot about being a Freedom Fighter, forgot that he'd fought Lee; he forgot his own history. We found him with the Avatar and his friends; he'd said he could help them find their lost Flying Bison, but it turns out, that was all a trick set up by the Dai Li. We were able to get him to remember where they had taken him: Lake Laogai.

"That was the Dai Li's headquarters, under the lake. We snuck in, to try and find the bison, but that was where it happened. Jet and Aang had gone on ahead, and by the time we reached them, it was too late for Jet. He wasn't going to make it. We split up from the Avatar and his friends then; they went to find the bison, while we stayed with Jet."

"It was the Dai Li that killed him?"

Smellerbee nodded. "The head of the Dai Li, Long Feng." There was a bitterness to her voice as she spoke his name.

The Duke was sitting quietly, taking it all in. Toph had seen Jet. She'd met him, and fought alongside him, and Smellerbee and Longshot. She'd seen him die (or at least, it sounded like she had).

So why did she, every time he brought up Jet and wondered about his whereabouts, remain silent on what she knew? And furthermore, she'd lied about it. She'd told him about the encounter with the Dai Li, looking for Appa, and had completely omitted the Freedom Fighters from the story!

What was going on?

* * *

x-x-x

* * *

Smellerbee and Longshot finally made their appearance! Hurrah!

Anyway, I know this chapter was a long time coming, and I'm very sorry about the delay. Unfortunately, things have kind of gone a little down hill for me in the life department, and I'm now working two jobs. Updates may not be as quick as usual because of this.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
Please leave constructive criticisms.


	14. Jet

The Duke stayed with Pipsqueak for another week. Perhaps it was because Longshot and Smellerbee were there, or because he did not want to return to Gaoling to have the inevitable fight with Toph, but he was more than happy to stick around.

And it was nice to be with the few remaining Freedom Fighters, for them all to catch up and have a few laughs and drinks and remember all they'd been through. There had been a few tears from Pipsqueak with some stories, but mostly it was good, and fun.

But the time came for him to leave, as Longshot and Smellerbee readied for departure as well. They were in search of anyone else they could find, to tell of Jet's demise. The Duke wished he could go with them, and almost did, but he knew he had to go back to Gaoling.

Toph had kept something from him, something huge and important, and he couldn't believe he had never told her. She had practically witnessed Jet's death- Jet, his hero, a man who gave him more guidance than anyone else in his life, and she never found it necessary to tell him that he had passed.

In all honesty, The Duke didn't know how their rather new relationship would handle this.

It took him a month to reach the limits of Gaoling, and once there, he remained on a hill, overlooking the town. He could see the Bei Fong estate, and imagined somewhere in the gardens, Toph was sprawled out on the grass, feeling all the vibrations through the earth, or whatever it was she did.

He was so disgusted, he couldn't continue.

The next day, he finally ventured into the town, meandering through it. He didn't want to see Toph, but he had to know, he had to know why she deceived him, why she had lied. It had come up in conversation, more than once. He had spoken of Jet fairly often, and she never once brought it up.

Eventually, he found himself at the Bei Fong gates, and he stood there for several minutes, before approaching the guards.

* * *

Toph was in her room, ignoring her parents, as she usually did when she didn't feel like moseying about town. Gaoling was small and every so often, she became bored with it. There were mostly the same people every day, the same smells and sounds; the only occasional differences were the tourists, coming for the Earth Rumble tournaments, or to catch a glimpse of the famous Blind Bandit who had trained the Avatar.

She was restless and bored, and in need of entertainment. So when a maid knocked on the door, letting her know she had a gentleman caller, Toph nearly raced down out to the garden. There was only one person it could be, the only person she would be so excited to have visit-

"The Duke- err, Sheng Li!" she cried when she stepped out onto the earthen ground, feeling where he stood. "You're here-"

But he wasn't happy. She could feel it in him, in the vibrations of his bones and heart. He was…upset. Angry? Maybe. She didn't have all the emotions worked out to a science yet.

"Why are you so upset?" she asked, walking toward him. He hadn't spoken to her, hadn't moved or anything. It wasn't like him.

He let out a heavy sigh. "We need to talk-"

"This had better not be a break up."

The short, low laugh he uttered was alarming. The Duke's laugh didn't sound like that. This…this was forced, was almost due to a sick humor only he could interpret from what she had said.

"No," he said, and his voice was raspy. "We need to talk about Jet."

"What about him?"

Those words affected him, Toph could feel it. He had nearly winced at them.

"Why didn't you tell me he died?"

Shit. Shit. Toph found herself, for once, speechless. How had he found out? How did he know that she knew? Her mouth was agape, and she could only stand there, trying to figure out what to say.

"You knew he died," the Duke continued. "You- you were _there_. You saw it- or felt it- or however you do your feet seeing thing, but you have known!"

"How do you know this?" Toph snapped back, growing defensive, as she always did when an argument arose. It didn't matter if she was in the wrong- she would not admit to it so freely.

"I saw Longshot and Smellerbee. They told me everything, of your run in with the Dai Li. Damn it, Toph, why didn't you tell me? You have known all this time, you know I have wondered what happened to him, hoped I might see him again, and you never thought to tell me he was murdered?"

"I didn't want to!"

The Duke stood there, doing whatever people did when they faced Toph and said nothing; was this staring? Was this what it felt like? She didn't like it.

"You didn't want to? So you just, what, decided that someone else down the line would tell me what happened to Jet, the man who damn near raised me, who- who was my goddamn hero? You just didn't feel like it?"

"It's not like that!" Toph argued. "I didn't- I knew you'd be upset by the news and I didn't want you to be upset at me for telling you it-"

"Damn lot of good that did, 'cause I don't think I could be more furious than I am now!" the Duke shouted at her. "I'm- I'm not mad that I found out what happened to Jet, I'm mad because you hid it from me, knowing I've wanted to know what came of him! You lied to me, you lied, Toph! Over something big!"

This was all wrong. Toph let out a frustrated growl, pushing her hair out of her face. "Hey, I'm sorry; I didn't want you to get hurt or mad or anything and I'm sorry!"

The Duke didn't say anything, only shook his head. "That doesn't make it better. You knowingly did this to me, Toph. I can't- fuck, I just can't."

He started past her, to leave, and she grabbed his arm as he went by. "Stop," she insisted. "Don't leave angry."

The Duke jerked his arm out of her grip, swearing under his breath. "It's too late for that. I can't see you right now. I'm just- the last people who hurt me like this were the Fire Nation."

Her jaw fell open, as he left the gardens. She couldn't find the words to make him stay, even though she knew:

He might never come back.

* * *

I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I've been without a computer for some time. I cannot promise for any more regular posting, as there are many things going on for me right now, but I will do my best.

Thanks for reading, and please leave any constructive criticisms.


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